It has been some time since Bath had an ice cream truck roaming its streets, doling out cold treats to neighborhood kids, but one Bath resident has decided to revive the novelty.

The Legendairy ice cream van hit the streets in mid-July, when temperatures and humidity were soaring, which made for a good start to Erin Chenard’s cool venture. The Legendairy van has covered parts of Bath and West Bath, with no set route or schedule, but Chenard does post on Facebook where the ice cream van will be heading next.

“One of the lessons I think we all learned from COVID-19 is that community is important,” Chenard said. “I think it’s too easy for our culture to kind of keep your head down and not put yourself out there and meet your neighbors.”

Legendairy nostalgia

The idea for the ice cream truck came about this past winter, when Chenard sought something that would better connect her and her family to the Bath community. One night, she was scrolling through the internet and saw a picture of a pink Mini Cooper pickup that had been converted into an ice cream truck.

According to Chenard, there used to be two ice cream trucks in Bath years ago, but they have disappeared from the streets.

Erin and her wife Virginia shopped around for possible trucks but ultimately settled on a van because it would be easier to maintain. The van they purchased used to be a work van that has been converted into a cozy place to hand out novelty ice cream treats including sandwiches, popsicles, SpongeBob pops and drumsticks.

Her two sons, Simon and Jean-Luc, helped with the conversion of the van, with neighborhood kids coming over to help with painting. The Legendairy ice cream van is a nice venture away from Chenard’s day job as an assistant to a financial adviser and a singer, classical soprano.

The cherry on top

Chenard has been sticking to the basics so far but is open to possibly teaming up with a local kitchen that makes an ice cream novelty for a premium, local-centric option.

“We are trying to pay attention to keeping the menu as kid-friendly priced as possible,” Chenard said.

One request Chenard received was from a local boy from Lisbon who wanted the ice cream van to drop by. Chenard made the trip to add Lisbon to the list of places Legendairy has visited outside of Bath. Legendairy plans on being at the upcoming Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Bath at Play but is looking to book other events like Bath Heritage Days.

Chenard said Legendairy focused on getting the name out to the public for the first few weeks and then booking more events in advance when there was more time to plan.

“We [have] just been trying to get started, and I keep telling myself, ‘Done is better than perfect,’ so there’s a lot of different things we would be excited to look at,” Chenard said.