Sweet Eats

It takes a leap of faith to buy an old mail truck over the internet, sight unseen, to be the centerpiece of your new family business. Yet that’s exactly what Lydia and Will Chambers did in 2017, when they purchased the truck that would soon start a new life as the anchor of Little Ladies Soft Serve. With toppings including everything from Fruity Pebbles to chopped pretzels to puppy chow, Little Ladies serves sundaes with unforgettable flourishes that bring neighbors to line up around the block.

While most ice cream trucks generally start packing up for the season around Labor Day, the end of summer 2021 marks a reason for the Chambers to start unpacking—loading supplies and surplus ingredients from the ice cream truck into their new Polaris-area store. There, they will continue selling the whimsical sundaes that have made Little Ladies Soft Serve beloved across the Columbus neighborhoods it has visited regularly since 2018.

THE BIRTH OF A BABY, AND AN IDEA

When Lydia and Will’s first daughter was born, Lydia began thinking about careers that would allow the two of them to spend time together while she was young. Lydia had a background in cooking, and a visit to the mobile vendors at the Worthington Farmers Market helped narrow her focus to a food truck. At first, she considered selling donuts and other baked goods. Then, she thought of ice cream and knew she’d found her niche.

There were several practical reasons for starting an ice cream truck. For one thing, the needs were less complex than for other food trucks, which meant they could restore the truck themselves. “I knew that Will, my husband, could build it. And ... it’s not a food truck, so we knew that the build-out would be simple enough, something that he could figure out on his own,” she explains.

Further, as the creator of Little Ladies’ signature sundaes, Lydia realized that the limited functionality of a truck wouldn’t limit her options when it came to making unique desserts. She had a formula worked out for her sundaes: something crunchy, a sauce, and a garnish on top. Those ingredients could be packed and prepared with less fuss than other foods might require. “The prospect of ... making ice cream toppings wasn’t as overwhelming to me as crafting the perfect pastry,” Lydia says. As she planned her sundaes, Lydia’s inspiration came from home—the name Little Ladies was inspired by daughters Mabel, 8, and Ida, 5, each of whom has a sundae named for her.

The day she sat in her Central Ohio living room and saw that postal truck for sale in Michigan, she was ready for it. And when she had questions, she knew who to ask: her sister and brother-in-law, who own and operate the King Kone ice cream shop in their hometown of Chardon, Ohio. They offered support and encouragement to the family as they were starting out.

Flannery and Ida enjoy the ice cream.

(right) The Aggie sundae combines hot fudge and peanut butter sauce. (left)Ida’s namesake sundae includes Fruity Pebble and marshmallow sauce.

A FAMILY BUSINESS

Lydia and an employee ran the truck for its first two summers. But in March 2020, having recently given birth to her third daughter and facing an uncertain summer as COVID-19 hit the country, Lydia knew she needed someone she trusted to take over the day-to-day operation. Again, she looked to her family. She persuaded her brother and sister-in-law to come live with them and manage the truck for the season. Will, meanwhile, took on full-time responsibilities for maintaining the truck and soft-serve machine.

Staffing problem solved, Lydia still had to contend with the cancellation of most events, which had been the core of the business up until that point. “I saw that all these food trucks were doing neighborhoods; I was, like, ‘OK, I guess that’s what we’re going to try to do,’” Lydia says. She started with a social media post offering to come to neighborhoods by request, and the response was overwhelming. “It was like opening the floodgates!”

With people tired of isolating and looking for fun, Little Ladies provided a safe reason to leave the house. The truck was in high demand, often visiting two neighborhoods a day with three-hour stops at each location. “It’s these things that I had no control [of], but because it was outside, people felt more comfortable. All these ways that we didn’t have to adapt that most other places did, which was such a gift.”

While last summer’s demand was great for business, it was also difficult to keep up with. When Will found the store for lease—a former rolled ice cream shop that would require minimal conversion work—the same good luck that had brought them to the truck seemed to have returned.

The shop will center on the beloved sundaes that put Little Ladies on the map, including the buckeye-themed Aggie and the fruity Essie featuring lemon cornflakes and raspberry. Lydia enjoys creating seasonal combinations, and she’s looking forward to the opportunities the winter holidays will present for new flavors. She’s also looking to expand the regular offerings. First up? The family’s newest little lady, 2-year-old Flannery, will join her sisters on the sundae menu.

Little Ladies will open its first storefront this fall at 673 Worthington Road. Visit littleladiessoftserve.com or their Instagram @littleladiessoftserve for more info.