Nathan Wright and Leah Vande Velde bring honest ice cream to the people via a vintage Citroen van
He has years of business experience; she boasts an impressive culinary resume, including work with Michelin-starred chefs in Spain. Together, business partners Nathan Wright and Leah Vande Velde complement each other like cookies and cream in their ice cream venture, Honest Scoop.
The two parents (whose children attend the same school) bonded over a mutual love of ice cream and the recognition of a need for homemade ice cream in Greenville. They were whipping up plans for a brick-and-mortar ice cream shop when COVID intervened. Ultimately, they decided on an ice cream truck. “We approached it from the angle of ‘this sounds fun, let’s do it and fix our mistakes along the way,’” says Wright.
They found a kitchen space at The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, and ultimately set their sights on a 1950s Citroen H van as their vehicle of choice. Wright had seen these distinctive vans when he worked in New York City. “We wanted something fun and funky,” he explains. And the Citroen, a vintage panel truck with a corrugated metal facade, fit the bill.
Ice Cream Social Hour
It took two years to find the van in Europe and retrofit it as an ice cream truck before they served their first scratch-made scoops last summer. The side of the van opens up to a little counter, where folks can order ice cream and hang out, an interaction Wright refers to as the “ice cream social.”
Specializing in events, the duo has done employee-appreciation days, weddings, baby showers, and even the Christmas tree lighting in downtown Greenville. Wright looks forward to finding sponsors to help Honest Scoop bring ice cream to nonprofits around town, such as Prisma health care workers and children at the Meyer Center.
The van’s cooler, which was imported from Italy, accommodates only six flavors, which Vande Velde imagines using local and seasonal ingredients. Chef Teryi Youngblood Musolf of Camilla Kitchen makes the majority of the pastries that the couple mix into their ice cream—such as the cookies for Honest Scoop’s cookies and cream and the shortbread that’s crumbled into the berry shortbread flavor.
Fall may bring beet ice cream, while honey lavender heralds spring with food-grade lavender from Twin Creeks Lavender Farm in Williamston. For special events, the entrepreneurs are happy to customize flavors on request. They recently started offering non-dairy versions, made with cashew milk and coconut cream.
Because it has no added stabilizers, Honest Scoop ice cream is always made fresh, according to a small-batch concept and rotating menu. “It’s a cleaner ice cream,” Wright says. “And our balance of [locally made] add-ins is perfect,” Vande Velde adds. “You always know what you’re eating.”
The Retro Wonder of Honest Scoop
You’ll know it when you see it. Painted mint green with peach and white lettering, the Honest Scoop panel truck is a retro wonder. The first mass-produced van with sliding doors and room to stand in the loading area, the Citroen H was produced in post-World War II France. “It only has four cylinders, so it will explode if you go more than 30 miles per hour,” laughs Wright. Only 500,000 of the front-wheel-drive vans were produced, which is why it was so hard to find, and why you won’t see another of its kind in Greenville.
Follow Honest Scoop pop-ups on @honestscoopgvl and facebook.com/honestscoopgvl; find information about events at thehonestscoopgvl.com.
Photography by Jack Robert Photography
