Dave Cass and Giovanni Salvador want you to play with your food, especially their fanciful ice cream sandwiches. What started as a fun idea to turn a vintage tricycle into a farmers market side-hustle serving up delightful ice cream flavors tucked between two equally fun cookies, brownies, macarons, or other sandwichable forms, has turned into a full-scale brick-and-mortar operation. Of course, the trike still makes appearances at events and wedding gigs, but having the West Side brick storefront, filled with beautiful plants, bright light, and chalkboard drawings, brings a grown-up polish to the nostalgic offerings.
Salvador brings a culinary background to the table, having worked in restaurants from Fisher’s Island, NY, to Providence, while Cass’ experience includes 18 years as an educator, a previous pedicab business, and a love of tricycles. In January of 2019, the pair decided that their small-scale operation on three wheels deserved a more formal home. “The location couldn’t be any better because we made a deliberate choice to not open a scoop shop; we doubled down on our focus to innovate on ice cream novelties,” says Cass. And innovate they do.
The West Side isn’t just home to the shop, it’s home to the team. “I think people in Providence are generally very open and are willing to try something new, so it has been so fun to create flavors for the community,” says Salvador. “A lot of us also live in the neighborhood and I think that the relationships go beyond the shop. It’s always nice to see our patio being used during warmer months as a gathering space.”
Salvador points to his childhood in the Philippines and the ingredients found there as a major inspiration for the menu but notes that ideas are everywhere, and it’s always a collaborative environment for the Tricycle team. “Our crew consumes a lot of media through books, films, podcasts, and music, and our ideas about new flavors often evolve organically from that,” he explains. “We might ask ourselves, ‘What would this character eat? This painting looks like a marbling of ice cream. Can we recreate it? With what flavors?’” Another consideration when making the classic handhelds is the consistency; filling and the integrity of the ingredients is key so that everything isn’t squishing out the sides or becoming impossible to hold. Enter the pint: Containers allow the team to explore more unique ingredients that don’t need to be constrained to a vessel. And as evidenced by the “sold out” signs on combinations like blackberry lemon pie and Biscoff speculoos cookie butter ice cream, the grab and go 16-ounce containers are a hit. Tricycle Ice Cream, 70 Battey Street; Instagram: @tricycles.ri
Courtney Cagle:
“My favorite thing on the menu is our ube because it’s different from all the other ones we make. I’m generally not a fan of coconut or white chocolate, but with the ube, it’s so good! I actually have been thinking about it all week.”
Dave Cass:
“My favorite is the Callebaut chocolate ice cream on salty pretzel shortbread cookies. Sometimes I come to the shop late at night after we close up and grab one. It’s one of the best parts of owning an ice cream business.”
Jhariel Estrella:
“It’s hard because I like them all equally, but I really like our passionfruit mimosas and our cookie compost.”
Giovanni Salvadore:
“My favorite thing is our chocolate cone. It has a caramel center and a crunch bar coating. Aggressive on the chocolate but super delicious!”
Janica Salvadore:
“I love the passionfruit sandwich with a mixed-berry core on the toasted coconut cookies! It’s tangy and sweet at the same time, and I love the crunch of the toasted coconut cookies with it.”
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