Soft serve, a variation of ice cream, gets its name from air being added during the freezing process making the frozen dessert less dense and thus softer.
Jimmy’s World Famous Soft Serve, owned by Matthew Gauthier, is an ice cream food truck parked at 1333 Camino Del Rio, just south of The Powerhouse. At Jimmy’s, the main attraction is a straightforward approach to a time-tested solution to the dog days of summer – soft serve ice cream.
After 25 years working in construction, Gauthier was sore, tired and ready for a change.
“I’d take my three daughters on vacation back east every summer, and we’d go to this one ice cream shop, soft serve ice cream, and I felt like I spent most of my vacation standing in line for ice cream,” he said. “So we talked about it for just years and years, and then they grew up to be women, and (we) finally did it.”
The first step? Come up with a catchy name. Those not from the East Coast may ask who this Jimmy is and what he has to do with ice cream. The answer is sprinkles, which go by a number of monikers including – shots, hundreds and thousands, and back in Gauthier’s home state, New Hampshire, jimmies. This may be rooted in Brooklyn, New York as told by one story, they were named after the employee who worked the machine at the Just Born Candy Co. that produced the surgary toppings, James Bartholomew. Mix that with a full-bearded mascot who has ice cream on the mind, designed by Gauthier’s daughters, and Jimmy of Jimmy’s World Famous Soft Serve was born.
Next, find a good spot. As excited as he is about the potential for a future brick-and-mortar location, he is wary of the overhead, and near The Powerhouse is a great location.
“It’s right on the river. It’s got all the tables, the park, the kids, it’s perfect location,” Gauthier said. “So I’m really happy with this.”
With a solid name and location, Gauthier and the company tried to hit the trifecta with the menu. The shop offers a wide array of summer-themed snacks, including banana splits, waffle dogs (picture a hot dog wrapped in a waffle, corn dog style) as well as the classics – vanilla and chocolate on a cone with just about any topping one could imagine, including, of course, complementary jimmies.
Gauthier seems to be in a comfortable position with his business but isn’t afraid to look forward and discuss dreams of expansion.
“I’d love to build another one to do big festivals with and keep this one here in Durango, just like a local spot,” he said. “So I’m not quite sure, but I definitely want to grow.”
He is well settled, having lived in Durango for a quarter-of-a-century and hopes to further enfold himself with Jimmy’s. With that in mind, he has already reserved the location in front of The Powerhouse for next year, so there is plenty of frozen delight in Durango’s future.
“I’ve raised my kids here,” he said. “I’m a carpenter in Durango, so primarily I build houses, but we’ve taken this family venture and hoping to make a go of it and live the ice cream life.”
