Alsies Ice Cream Truck pulled into Remington Heights recently and parked on a tree-shaded street, a loop of jingles trailing from vehicle speakers and wafting through the neighborhood.
The sound reached 11-year-old Cooper Aramburu, one block away. A 6th grader at Lopez Middle School, the boy raced to the truck and ordered two popsicles: a SpongeBob and Sonic.
“I was playing in the backyard and said, ‘Dad, there’s an ice cream truck,’” Aramburu explained. “He gave me some money and I ran over.”
Alsies Ice Cream Truck, San Antonio’s newest business on wheels, rolls through four ZIP codes in Stone Oak, Timberwood Park and Encino Park. The truck stirs a nostalgic vibe, sells classic ice cream sandwiches and gourmet treats and uses modern technology.
Customers can track the truck on a mobile app, receive alerts when it’s within two miles of their neighborhood and request stops at their home.
“We have ice cream you cannot get anywhere else but through us,” said Richie Miranda, who operates the business with his wife, Manelys Acosta. “We sell Nightingale sandwiches, premium, high-end ice cream sandwiches. We sell classic characters and the pushups that kids used to love. We also have paletas, which are all organic, and we have gluten-free options.”
Miranda and Acosta live in Stone Oak. They are full-time doctors who wanted to launch a part-time business. Last year, the couple discovered Alsies, a reimagined ice cream truck operation founded in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The concept and slogan — “Happiness at your door” — sparked memories. Miranda and Acosta grew up poor in Puerto Rico. They remembered ice cream trucks and the infrequent times they cobbled together enough money to buy a treat.
“When I was a little girl and able to get ice cream, it was the best day of my life,” Acosta said. “My sister and I would chase the ice cream truck and we would scream out loud.”
Acosta and Miranda met in medical school in the Dominican Republic. They came to San Antonio in 2016 to practice medicine and recognized a void: no ice cream trucks in their neighborhood.
On the East Coast, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, Travis Kososki, founded a start-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking letters from the names of his three children — Alexander, Landon and Sienna — Kososki named the business Alsies.
“My wife is actually the one who came up with the ice cream truck idea,” Kososki said. “It’s one of those experiences almost everyone remembers from childhood — hearing the music, running outside and seeing neighbors gather in the street. It’s a simple tradition, but it creates a moment where people come together. Unfortunately, over time that experience had faded in many places.”
Alsies rolled out its first truck in 2020. Miranda and Acosta became franchise owners five years later and ran their first route earlier this month on March 2. An official grand opening will be held Saturday, March 14 from 1-3 p.m. at Mitchell’s Landing, a playground at Classen-Steubing Ranch Park on Hardy Oak Boulevard.
Acosta practices at VA South Texas Health Care while Miranda serves through the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston. As doctors and parents of two young children, the start-up consumes much of their free time.
“We literally work on the business aspect after putting the kids to sleep at night and some time during the weekends,” Acosta said. “The most important aspect in our lives is praying and asking the Lord for his directions. Thank God we have three employees and they have been trained. They are the ones doing the routes and events now.”
Lauren Henry drove the Alsies truck through non-gated communities this past week and found excited customers, enjoying warm weather. On one route, “We stopped for 10 or 15 kids who were on Spring Break,” she said.
The truck runs in the afternoon from Tuesday through Sunday. Miranda times routes to begin when children leave school.
In two weeks, he’ll invite area schools to participate in a competition. The school with the most students following Alsies on social media will receive an ice cream truck visit.
“All the students from that school will get free ice cream,” Miranda said.
Initially, Miranda and Acosta considered opening a medical-related business. Studies they said, however, showed the medical market was saturated. An adviser told them about Alsies. An on-demand ice cream truck held appeal.
“You want us to come by? Click ‘yes’ and we can serve you,” Acosta said. “That’s what caught our attention when we were searching for different businesses.”
Alsies has another truck that operates in Schertz under different owners. While Alsies Stone Oak covers non-gated communities on the far North Side, it delivers to other parts of the city.
“We want to bring that happiness and experience to kids in our neighborhoods,” Acosta said. “And so far it’s been so gratifying.”
