Big Gay Ice Cream has been anNYC dessert stapleever since owners Doug Quint and Bryan Petroff had the bright estimate to start drive an ice-skating rink cream truck in the summer of 2009 . “ Big Gay Ice Cream ” was the first name that sprang to beware , and New Yorkers respond in swarm , driving the pair to finally swap the truck for a workshop and earn rave reviews for goody like the Salty Pimp , Bea Arthur , and American Globs . But there ’s more to BGIC than just peachy chalk cream and even better assignment science . Here are 10 thing you did n’t know about the phenomenally democratic indulgent - serve outlet .
They’ve worked with the Secret Service… on multiple occasions
Twice , to be precise . The first time was when Quint and Petroff ply a salient metropolis official ’s wedding . ( They would n’t flesh out , but it seems likelyit was former Council Speaker Christine Quinn , who married her collaborator Kim Catullo in 2012 . ) The second time was last October , when Larry Wilmore used the East Village positioning to interview Nancy Pelosi for theNightly Show . Louis CK also take in the workshop during the 5th season ofLouie , though the Secret Service was uninvolved .
Big Gay Ice Cream was almost Big Gay Rat Patrol
Big Gay Ice Cream almost did n’t happen . Quint , a concert bassoonist just a dissertation away from finishing his doctorate in musical artistic production , require a summer project – something fun , but also something clearly New York . The ice cream motortruck presented itself in the form of a Facebook post from a friend , who was front for people to help commandeer one for the summer . It was perfect . “ If not this , he want to be an exterminator ’s apprentice – that was figure two , ” Petroff say . “ We could have been Big Gay Rat Patrol . ” enumerate your blessings , New York .
They never actually owned that truck
Business was quick to take off , but Quint and Petroff never invest to buying their own truck , instead choose to lease day by day from a depot in Greenpoint . “ We impart all our stuff on in the morning , and took everything off every mean solar day , ” Petroff said . “ We never knew whether we ’d have the same truck two years in a row . ” When they first set out , Quint did n’t have a railway car , so he ’d exchange via three trains from Washington Heights , where he lived , hauling all the topping and signage in both directions . The second twelvemonth , they bought a car .
And P.S.: driving an ice cream truck is actually hell
call on out that driving an ice pick truck is n’t nearly as lighthearted an enterprise as the Smashing Pumpkinsmake it appear . In the first place , they ’re not very spacious , so anyone over around 6ft - tall has to crouch for the intact 24-hour interval . And ? “ It ’s really hard to fend on something that vibrates all the time , ” Petroff said , adding that the effort is cause by the motortruck ’s generator . The hand truck that BGIC tend to habituate had the added disadvantage of being pretty beat up , so they usually could n’t run both the vanilla and hot chocolate refrigerators AND the air conditioning at the same time – an especially miserable choice to make on a live summer day . What had to give ? “ It alternated between the deep brown methamphetamine hydrochloride cream and A / C , ” he said .
Neither of the owners likes chocolate ice cream
For two guys who own one of the most democratic ice creameries in the city , it seems ironic that neither Quint nor Petroff cares for one of the most popular flavors . But it ’s straight . “ We realise we skew out from burnt umber , so we check that we do n’t overlook it , ” Petroff order . “ It ’s a witting decision to have to use it . It does n’t do naturally . ”
There’s an ex-factor
The succeeder of Big Gay Ice Cream has mostly been a collaborative effort , and both owners sop up upon the expertness of many citizenry to help them get their start . Two such people , though , once held a much larger role in Petroff ’s life in particular : They were , at varying points , his boyfriends . One , the artistJason O’Malley , design the Big Gay logo . Another , Devin Grosz , designed the website . “ We wish to keep it in the family , ” he joke .
One of their top sellers was invented on the fly
American Globs , a delicious concoction of vanilla sparkler cream , pretzel , sea salt , and chocolate dip , is consistently one of Big Gay ’s top sellers . But its existence is a total accident , and it postulate the author Neil Gaiman . connive ? scan on .
“ We ’d been going back and away with [ Gaiman ] on Twitter about the musical theme of homosexual dairy farm product , as he telephone them , ” Petroff said . One day , when the truck was park in Union Square , the two owners noticed the writer waiting in their ever - lengthy line . “ We were like , shit , he ’s in argumentation , we call for to come in up with something now , just for him ! ”
loyal thinking head to the purchase of some jam - up pretzels , and a few minute later , the treat was born . More telling than the concoction itself , however , is the name . experience that Gaiman had save a book calledAmerican Gods , they whipped up the pun and added it to the computer menu , all while still serving other customers .
Cole Saladino/Thrillist
“ That was our quickest non - thinking affair , ” Petroff said . “ The others ordinarily have more thought . ”
They once shut down SF’s Golden Gate Park
It was during Chipotle ’s Cultivate Festival , and the line were insane , even for BGIC . At one head , a common ship’s officer approached the truck . “ We clock your argument , and it ’s three hours long , ” Petroff retrieve the officer saying . “ Three tail of the people in Golden Gate Park are in your line . ” The park was forced to espouse a “ one in , one out ” policy , since the truck had border it over capability .
A third NYC location will be opening later this year, and plans for a fourth are on the horizon
BGIC already has an outpost in Philly , but alternatively of nationwide expansion , Quint and Petroff have decided to concentrate their attempt on New York . They wo n’t divulge any extra detail on the location of the raw store , but did say it will open sometime this year . Another is slated to open next yr .
Their next pursuit? Maybe a dive bar!
“ We both miss what we reckon was one of the best bar in New York , which was Dick ’s in the East Village , ” Petroff said . “ It was a petite hole - in - the - wall gay ginmill that had the well nickelodeon . ” The two have a name beak out , though its cosmos remains a remote aspiration , at least for now . Still , if it comes to realization , Quint recognize precisely what sort of vibe they ’d be go for . “ The in effect kind of cake is the kind where after they have last call and turn the ignitor on , they discover someone ’s been bushed at the legal profession the entire night , ” he say .
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Comedy Central/YouTube
Flickr/Wally Gobetz
Bryan Petroff and Doug Quint|Donny Tsang
Donny Tsang
Flickr/Guian Bolisay
Bryan at work|Donny Tsang
