Q & A With Kelvin Slushies

Alex Rein has always secretly loved slushies, but the former lawyer thought the 7-11-style drink wasn’t quite sophisticated enough to bring back to the
office.  “It’s hard to be taken seriously as an adult if you are walking down the
street
and drinking a bright blue slushie,” he explains.  So Rein left law and started Kelvin Natural Slush Co., a Manhattan-based truck
that sells gourmet versions of his favorite frozen snack.  His slushies
incorporate real fruit purees and let customers mix-and-match to create unique
concoctions, like blood orange with ginger and white peach with tea.

Rein didn’t have much experience in the food business, but that didn’t stop him from experimenting with new flavors and a one-of-a-kind business.  Not only is selling real fruit slushees, but he’s also taken to the roads to do it.  When he’s not working or slurping a Spicy Ginger slush with raspberry puree, he’s grabbing ice cream
from his other favorite food truck – Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream.

Single/Married/Divorced?
Single, but seeing someone.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was younger, I wanted to work for the New York Giants.  I still think
that would be pretty cool. This actually wasn’t the direction I saw my career
going in.  I started out as a lawyer and did that for a few years.

What was your first job in food and what did you learn?

I lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a year after college
and I worked in Nick Wilson’s Cowboy Café bussing and prepping tables. I
learned the restaurant business involves a lot of time on your feet.

From where did you
buy your slushies growing up?
I grew up drinking slushies, primarily from gas station convenience stores.
In college there was a 7-11 right behind the house I lived in where we would go
to on a fairly regular basis for Slurpies.  

What gave you the idea to turn slushies into a gourmet dessert by using real
fruit?
It seems like a lot of food and dining projects are going in this
direction.  I really liked the idea of a more grown-up version of a slushie
because at 30 years old, although I can still enjoy a
7-11 Slurpie, it’s just a bit too sweet, and the flavors are limited.  Also, it’s hard to be taken seriously as an adult if you are walking down the street
and drinking a bright blue slushie.

Why did you decide to
operate your slushie business out of a truck, rather than out of a storefront?
Initially, I thought about it as a storefront. I didn’t have a tremendous
amount of experience in the business and I wasn’t sure if everyone would share
my enthusiasm for a grown-up version, so a truck was a good way to
test out my business idea.  Plus, trucks are fun and they give the business more
flexibility.  We can test out different areas of the city to see how we sell in
different places

You let patrons customize their own Kelvin slushie, but what’s your personal
favorite slushie combination?

I like to combine the Spicy Ginger slush with raspberry
puree.

Other than your own, what’s your
favorite food truck in New York City?

You know, I’m partial to ice cream, so I like the Van Leeuwen ice cream
truck.

Why do you think food trucks have become
such a city-wide phenomenon?

I think that they offer a great variety of meals or
desserts, and a lot of the trucks have very good quality food, and people are
starting to realize that. They’re also very convenient, making it quick and
easy to get something to eat which is good for people in Manhattan who are
always running around.

What’s a typical day
like at Kelvin Natural Slush?

We get out to the
commissary early in order to start prepping the truck for the day which takes
about an hour.  We then head into
Manhattan, update the Facebook and Twitter pages and our “Slush Phone” hotline
with our location and open for business. 
We are still trying to figure out the good spots to sell, so we usually
move once during the day.  After we
close up for the day, we drive back out to the commissary, clean the truck,
head home and get ready to do it all again the next day.

Can you describe the
importance of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook for your
business?

They’re both very important. We’re trying to build a good
following with these sites and we use them to notify customers and fans where
we’re going to be and special promotions we are offering. We want to engage our
audience and get immediate feedback on what we are doing. Twitter and Facebook are
great from a business point of view.

What’s the best part
about owning a food truck? Do you have a least favorite aspect of the
operation?

The best part about
owning a food truck is the freedom to try out different things, whether it is a
new mix-in item or a special promotion, and be able to see how customers
respond. Not having much prior experience in this area I’m doing a lot of
learning on the fly, and am enjoying figuring out what works and what doesn’t
as we go along.  I would have to
say that the worst part is navigating the truck through Manhattan traffic.

Other than slushies, what’s your favorite type of frozen treats and where in
New York City do you go to get it?

I live down on 13^th Street, so I go to Sundaes
and Cones. All their ice cream is really great, but my favorite kind is their
mint chocolate chip.

Any plans for new
menu items or a second truck yet?

Ideally, we’d like to expand, either with more trucks, a
storefront or any combination. It depends on the demand, but we’d
definitely look into expanding. 

www.kelvinslush.com