By just about every metric you can find, we’re pretty confident that 2025 will go down as one of the best summers we’ve had in a very long time. Not only have we had some amazing weather for the entire season, we’ve been greeted by all sorts of great shows, events, concerts, festivals, and more.
No matter if it’s been the great weather we’ve had or awesome drinks and food that you could get all over the region, this has been a flat-out, all-around top-notch summer.
But I don’t know if you’ve noticed, there has been something that I really haven’t seen around town. Thinking about it, the thing that’s been missing was something that really helped to shape parts of our childhood.
Where Did All The Ice Cream Trucks Go In Western New York?
On a random Saturday afternoon on my North Buffalo street, I saw something for the first time this whole summer: an ice cream truck.
It just hit me that I haven’t seen any ice cream trucks anywhere around Western New York for the entire summer.
If you think back about some of the best days of your life from yesterday, then I bet you trace some of those memories to grabbing ice cream from a truck that rolled down your street. I remember so many days when I would run in the house to beg my parents for some pocket change so I could grab a cone, ice cream sandwich, or another frosty treat from the ice cream truck.
How times have changed!
Ed Nice Jackson / Townsquare Media
Ed Nice Jackson / Townsquare Media
Over the last few summers, I can count on one hand how many ice cream trucks I’ve seen rolling around the 716. It seems that I’m not the only person who’s noticed this, according to reports from CNN and USA Today.
For many years in America, the ice cream truck was as iconic as apple pie, and they ruled the streets of America from sea to shining sea. However, those days are long gone as there are some communities that don’t have an ice cream truck at all.
The way Americans consume ice cream, combined with inflation reducing the amount of disposable money families have, and higher regulatory burdens, has made operating an ice cream truck very hard in modern times.
Have you seen any ice cream trucks around town? If so, where are we most likely to find one?
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Gallery Credit: Kadie Daye, Canva Image, Getty Image