This ice cream man is driven by his dream
b.good co-owner enjoying the ride
An aluminum truck painted jet black with orange flames barrels down Boylston Street in Back Bay. As “Shake Your Booty’’ booms from its speakers, a parade of office workers on lunch break look up bemused. Pulling into a loading zone, Jon Olinto, co-owner of b.good, slides open the window and shouts: “Who wants a shake?’’
This is not your 1950s ice cream truck peddling Hoodsies. This is one man’s dream of bringing iced treats, or in this case strawberry banana shakes, to the masses. For free. “I’ve always wanted to drive an ice cream truck. Growing up, the ice cream man was my hero,’’ says Olinto, 34. The plan for b.good, his natural burger and sandwich business, to give away fruit shakes on the streets of Boston, stems to Olinto’s childhood. An ice cream truck broke down in front of his Quincy home when he was 8 years old. “We had to put all this ice cream in our freezer. It was the greatest day of my life,’’ he says. From that moment, ice cream man soared to the top of his “What I Want to Be When I Grow Up’’ list. Clinching the title wasn’t so easy. It took 26 years.
At an ice cream truck pound in Chelsea, these four-wheeled symbols of childhood can fetch $15,000. So Olinto turned to Facebook and posted an inquiry that b.good was looking for a truck, with freezers, of course. David Yarus responded. The Babson College grad had purchased a 1982 Grumman for his street marketing company on
Naming the truck was next. Customers, called family in b.good parlance, submitted names online. It came down to three finalists. Derrick Martin’s suggestion for the name “Harvey’’ won. It’s to honor the late political activist Harvey Milk and also named for the old English translation “eager and ready for battle,’’ says Martin. Martin’s mug is plastered on the side of the truck and he will receive a free shake a day for his creative input.
“That’s the great thing about having your own business. You can do whatever you want,’’ says Olinto, whose b.good shops have several Back Bay locations, and others in Brookline, Dedham, Cambridge, and Hingham.
On Harvey’s first day out, it succeeds in impressing b.good’s competitors in the fast food industry. “I’m in awe,’’ says Sam Chud, marketing director for Boloco, ogling Harvey at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Boylston Street. Fresh from the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, Chud says b.good is on the breaking wave with Harvey. “The food truck craze is huge in California and will hit the Eastern Seaboard very soon.’’
This summer Harvey will cruise the streets of Boston, Cambridge, and Hingham. Instead of the tinkle of nursery rhymes, the Cars’ “Shake It Up’’ and Bob Marley’s “Soul Shakedown’’ will entice 6-year-olds and their grandparents to chase Harvey.
At a Downtown Crossing stop, a tourist from Hong Kong snaps a photo of Harvey and a trio of advertising executives from Digitas groove outside the truck. Grabbing a strawberry banana shake on his way into work, Sprint employee Randal Gatnik can’t take his eyes off the gleaming truck. “This is Manhattan,’’ he says. “This is awesome.’’
“Over time Harvey will become a Boston icon,’’ says Olinto, who has added a Wi-Fi bubble to his traveling shake shack in the hope of usurping Mister Softee.
As far as marketing stints go, Harvey is a costly one. With a custom paint job and free food fueling its rebirth, the company will shell out well over $5,000 to live the dream. At Harvey’s second stop of the day, a smiling Olinto, behind the blender, doesn’t seem to mind. “It’s all about celebrating ourselves and our customers for what they are — real people.’’
Want Harvey to show up in your neighborhood? E-mail jaketheicecreamman@bgood.com.
Kathleen Pierce can be reached at kmdpierce@gmail.com. 
