Ice cream food truck Black Box Ice Cream, which has been serving its unique creations to people all across the area, has plans to open a storefront in Smyrna soon.
While the exact open date is not known yet, they will be opening a storefront at 11473 Old Nashville Highway.
Black Box Ice Cream began in the middle of the pandemic, Alex Fisher’s employer decided to no longer run their ice cream trucks. That meant he was without a job with a baby on the way. He and his wife, Holly, decided to turn the negative into a positive and make their own artisan flavored ice cream in small batches from scratch and sell it from a food truck.
“My father had a truck that he was no longer using as a mobile photo studio,” Alex explained to Behind the Scenes Nashville. “We started gutting it and rebuilding it in December of 2020, and we finished in May of 2021.”
They christened their company “Black Box Ice Cream Truck” because it reminded them of the black boxes that are found in planes and trains that always seem a bit mysterious. Or like a black box theater, which is a place to create and build something different. In their case, it was to build unique flavors.
“We wanted to shake up the ice cream world,” said Alex, “but not freak people out.”
Using a small one-quart freezer, the couple creates unique flavors based on his childhood in the South, and her life traveling around the world. Their flavors come from memories of grandma’s kitchen and multicultural markets.
Their flavors are always changing, so they post them frequently on Instagram and Facebook. While they try to have beloved flavors like vanilla and chocolate as one of the nine flavors that they carry on the truck, they also offer their own creations made with real foods not flavorings. Their Banana Pudding Ice Cream is made from 16 bananas, Nilla vanilla wafers and marshmallows; while their cookies and cream, their most popular flavor, contains 2,000 cookies in a gallon of ice cream.
“I come from New York,” said Holly. “There is a place there called the Magnolia Bakery that makes the best banana pudding. That is what ours tastes like.”
One flavor that has become a signature flavor is Ube. It is made from a purple yam that comes from the Philippines, which gives the ice cream its dark purple color naturally and provides a flavor that tastes a bit like shortbread cookies.
Their two most unique and “spicy” flavors are Wasabi and Massaman Curry. Both flavors Alex describes as a slow burn with the Wasabi hitting in the nose and the Massaman Curry hitting in the chest.
“People are very intrigued [by these flavors],” noted Alex, “but they are not eating them on a regular basis.”
The couple also make sorbets and other cool treats for those who cannot eat dairy or have other food allergies. At least two of the flavors on the truck are always non-dairy and vegan.
A secret menu of flavors not listed is always on the truck, too. These are often experimental or specially requested flavors left over from a catered event. Holly notes that it is really no secret, and they tell people to ask about their special flavors.
While they are still offering their ice creams at places all over Middle Tennessee, as well as using it to cater private events, they are currently in the process of building out their brick-and-mortar location in Smyrna, Tennessee.
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