Victoria Tramble has an unusual commute to work. Instead of a laptop bag, she’s armed with a cooler of ice cream that she lugs by canoe to a floating dock on New Brunswick’s Kingston Creek. The 22-year-old is the proud new owner of The Ice Cream Dock. “It’s a floating ice cream dock. So, it’s very unique. It has a boat drive-thru for boats to just pull up. We tie them on and we give them ice cream,” Tramble explains. The dock is attached on a mooring. Boaters drive or paddle up and place their orders at a window. Treats like drumsticks, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches are the draw. The snack shack also sells chips and summer drinks. Tramble keeps everything cool in a freezer or fridge powered by battery on the dock and hopes to install solar panels by next season. “It’s all pre-packaged ice cream. I would like to go for scooped ice cream next year once we’re solar powered,” she said. When the sun comes out, boaters line up. “I was smiling ear to ear that day, really. I was so happy. And it was it was really, really, really fun,” Tramble recalls about a recent sunny weekend. On a cloudy weekday, like when CTV News visited, ice cream is a tougher sell. The cloud, wind and mist kept customers away at first. But after lunch, a special customer showed up -- Mike Alton, the previous owner. Alton built and opened the business last year. Swamped with his other ventures, such as the nearby Ridgeback Lodge, he didn’t want to see his idea sink. He chose to sell and Tramble scooped it up. “This was a dream of mine. Always wanted an ice cream shop. Thought about putting it on the water and it all made sense,” Alton said as he enjoyed a treat while balancing a paddleboard. “I’m just grateful I got to be a part of it. It sure looks sharp now.” Tramble became an entrepreneur just after she unexpectedly found herself without a job this winter. “I think that’s a scary reality for a lot of people my age right now. I found myself scrambling to find a job,” she said, adding the timing was perfect. She saw it was for sale on Facebook and messaged Alton. “Everything else is history,” she said. Before this, the entrepreneur didn’t know a lot about running a business, but she’s picked it up quickly: Budgeting, marketing and sales are all focuses now. “I kind of just jump straight into it, and I do not regret it whatsoever,” she said. Tramble said she used to be a lot shyer, but the gig has also given her a chance to meet more people. “It’s such a unique thing. And everybody that comes by is just in love with it,” she said. “I’ll always be in love with it. I don’t think I’ll ever not love it here. I really can’t complain. I just hang it on the water all day.”
