Mister Softee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mister Softee | |
| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1956 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Headquarters | Runnemede, New Jersey, United States |
| Industry | Ice cream |
| Products | Ice cream |
| Slogan | Bringing the Very Best to Families since 1956 |
| Website | www.mistersoftee.com/ |
Mister Softee is a United States-based ice cream truck franchisor popular in the Northeast. It was founded by William and James Conway (Oct. 30, 1927 - May 28, 2006) [1] in 1956 in Philadelphia. It is the largest franchisor of soft ice cream in the United States. It has about 350 franchisees operating 600 trucks in 15 states. The company is headquartered in Runnemede, New Jersey. It is still run by the Conway family; James Conway, Jr. is now President.
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[edit] Mister Softee in Hong Kong
 
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Mister Softee is popular as well in Hong Kong, where Mister Softee (Chinese: 富豪雪糕), owned by the Ng Enterprises Ltd., consists of a number of ice cream trucks. The red-white-blue outlook of the trucks, and the Blue Danube played by them, are part of the collective memory of many Hong Kongers.
The first truck, which had been imported from England, began to operate in 1970. Today the company has 14 ice cream vans running on both Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. The headquarters of the company is located in Fo Tan.
As the Hong Kong Government has stopped the issue of new hawking licence since 1978, and the existing licences cannot be transferred to other vehicles, the old trucks are still running on the roads of Hong Kong. Each van, as required by the law, comprises a soft ice cream making machine, a basin, and two refrigerators.
The trucks sell only four products:
- soft ice cream (vanilla is the only flavour, though the cone is made of chocolate)
- nutty drumstick
- Large Cups ("lotus cups" 蓮花杯 in Chinese)
- Jumbo Orange (Chinese:珍寶橙冰; a kind of sherbet).
The red-white-blue vans also began to be seen in Shanghai in 1994, and number to 18 as in August 2005.
[edit] Mister Softee jingle
The jingle played by Mister Softee trucks is instrumental and created in 1960 by an advertising agency, but according to the New York Times [2] the lyrics are as follows:
- "The CREAM-i-est DREAM-i-est SOFT ice CREAM
- you GET from MIS-ter SOF-tee.
- FOR a re-FRESH-ing de-LIGHT su-PREME
- LOOK for MIS-ter SOF-tee...."
It is written in E-flat major with 6/8 time. In New York City, the trucks can only play the jingle while moving, to reduce noise.
A copy of the sheet music and all the words can be found on the Mister Softee webpage.
[edit] Mister Softee in film
A Mister Softee truck driven by Gail Catherine O'Hara was a key device in the Martin Scorsese film After Hours.
[edit] References
- A feature article from Ming Pao, 1 August 2005. In Chinese only.
- New York Times article on Mister Softee
- New York Times article: James Conway Sr., 78, a Founder of Mister Softee, Dies
