Inside Camden County Where Mister Softee's Iconic Ice Cream Trucks Have Been Made Since 1958
RUNNEMEDE, N.J. (CBS) -- It's 55 days until summer and Eyewitness News is getting a rare look inside the Camden County factory where an area favorite is made. Mister Softee is a national brand, but the trucks are only made in Runnemede, Camden County.
CBS3 talked to the owner of Mister Softeee about everything from how gasoline prices could affect ice cream prices to that famous Mister Softee jingle that reminds so many of us of summer.
Everyone from young children to the young of the heart knows the tune.
"It means the weather is finally warm enough for everybody to get outside," Cheltenham resident Kris Bioteau said.
"I get elderly people coming out and say they used to chase after the ice cream truck when they were a kid. Now, they're bringing their grandkids out," Mister Softee truck franchisee Paul Skow said.
The Mister Softee jingle hasn't changed in over six decades. Neither has the location of this warehouse in Runnemede, Camden County, where each and every one of the iconic ice cream trucks has been built since 1958.
"This is the beginning process," JP Conway said.
We got an inside look at the three-month process that goes into making these iconic trucks in this family-owned third-generation business.
"It was my grandfather and his brothers," Conway said.
JP Conway is the grandson of one of the original founders.
"I've been here like 20 years," he said.
Before working in the factory, Conway grew up here.
"I remember going in and eating those chocolate wafer cookies when I was a young child. That's my fondest memory. Because we'd help Dad move boxes around and then I got to eat cookies the rest of the day," he said.
Today, he runs it with his brother, operating more than 600 trucks in 18 states. He's thinking about how the business may look in the future.
"They're starting now to get at electric. We haven't done that. It would be a whole different ballgame," Conway said.
He also says many truck franchisees are trying to get business back to where it was pre-pandemic. But the company has withstood previous recessions and he expects the company to continue to run for generations to come.
