A sweet dream rolls toward Mariposa

After years of imagining her own ice cream truck, Amy Paige prepares to bring Yammy’s Yummies to town.

By Dan Tucker

For 15 years, Amy carried around the kind of dream that can sound whimsical at first: owning an ice cream truck.

Now, after years of joking about it, thinking about it and wondering whether the idea might ever become real, that dream is close to rolling through the streets of Mariposa.

“This is finally like a dream come true,” Amy said. “I kind of joked about it in the beginning, but my husband kind of gave me the final push. He told me, ‘Quit thinking about it and just do it.’”

That nudge was enough. Last May, Amy and her husband found an old, run-down 1972 AM General postal vehicle on Facebook Marketplace in San Andreas. They made the short trip north and brought home the framework of what she believes will become the fulfillment of a long-held ambition.

Amy and her husband prepare the refurbished AM General for its first coat of paint. (Submitted Photo)

Since then, the vehicle has become a family project, rebuilt piece by piece into what Amy hopes will look and feel like a traditional neighborhood ice cream truck.

“It’s been a fun project to work on with my husband and his friends,” Amy said. “There’s almost nothing he can’t do, so we’ve been putting everything in place, piece by piece, and trying to give it the look of a traditional ice cream truck.”

The idea traces back to Amy’s childhood in Bakersfield, where one of her fondest memories was visiting the ice cream truck on weekends with her father, a truck driver who was away from home during the week.

“It was always something we looked forward to on the weekends because my dad drove truck all week,” she recalled.

Those memories stayed with her. Soon, she hopes, they will help create new ones for local children and families.

With just one state inspection left to clear, it may not be long before the hot pink “Yammy’s Yummies” ice cream truck is making its way through Mariposa.

The name, Amy said, comes from family. She and her husband have two adult daughters and a 1-year-old grandson. She hopes he will grow up calling her “Yammy” instead of grandma. Her husband, in turn, is “Pappy.” The couple even launched an LLC using those names in the official filing.

Amy said the first state inspection identified only a couple of corrections. Once those are complete, she expects to receive clearance from the Mariposa County Health Department.

This is the condition of the truck Amy and her husband started with. (Submitted Photo)

“I’ll be doing the actual operating of the vehicle and such,” Amy said with a laugh. “My husband is the CEO, CFO and mechanic.”

Yammy’s Yummies will offer pre-packaged ice cream treats, sodas, chips and candy. Amy said a set route has not yet been established, though the truck will likely focus on town, daytime stops and evening pop-ups near familiar gathering places.

Because of state regulations, vending can only take place in 25-mile-per-hour zones, Amy said, which limits where the truck can stop in Mariposa. Still, she expects to serve interior streets and show up at local soccer and softball games.

“I’m really looking forward to making memories with my grandson,” Amy said.

If all goes as planned, Yammy’s Yummies will soon be cruising through town, offering cool treats, a splash of hot pink and perhaps the same kind of childhood memory that first set Amy’s dream in motion.