Don’t let anyone tell you that selling ice cream on the streets of New York is a sweet gig. The Times took a deep dive into the soft-serve turf war between Mister Softee and New York Ice Cream (née Master Softee) after the latter began moving in on the better-known brand’s territory in midtown. “Let me tell you about this business,” a Mister Softee driver explained to the Times. “Every truck has a bat inside.”
This is evidently true, and the combatants are not limited to parties selling frozen confectionery treats. The Times also reports that a New York Ice Cream man took a baseball bat to the head of a pretzel vendor in retaliation for him encroaching on the ice-cream man’s midtown territory.
The ice-cream man, John Cicero, was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony assault, though the incident took place a few weeks ago, near 54th Street and Madison Avenue. John Cicero reportedly pulled his New York Ice Cream truck up to that “favorite spot” only to find the pretzel guy already peddling his snacks on this corner. You’d think there’d be room for both salty and sweet, but things got heated, and the two vendors started brawling:
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