The Multi-Million Dollar Ice Cream Cake Company That Began With A $15 Investment

In 1929, at the start of the Great Depression, Tom Carvel began selling ice cream from a truck. The story of how one man turned a single truck into a multi-million dollar ice cream business is almost as sweet as the frozen treats the company is known for. When Carvel first had the idea to go into the ice cream business, he didn't have enough money for the truck he needed, so he had to borrow $15 from a woman named Agnes Stewart. She went on to become his wife in 1937.

Carvel was born Athanasios Karvelas in Athens, Greece, before moving to America as a child. Early in life, he held an eclectic array of jobs, including a stint as a Dixieland drummer. At age 26, he was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis, which prompted him to move to Westchester, New York. It was in New York that he met Stewart. Though they would not marry until years later, she trusted him enough to invest in his business. At 28, he bought what was likely a very rundown truck

In 1934, fate stepped into Carvel's life. His truck broke down with a flat tire on Memorial Day weekend. Not wanting to miss one of the biggest days for selling ice cream, he pulled over and started selling his stock which was slightly melty by this time. The heat made it softer than normal ice cream, and people loved it.

Carvel sold out of his accidentally soft ice cream in two days, quickly realizing soft ice cream was a hit. It wasn't long before he invented and patented a new kind of freezer that kept ice cream frozen but soft. Carvel invented soft serve ice cream and changed the face of frozen treats forever. Carvel's first ice cream shop opened on the same spot where his truck broke down. He sold his machines to other shops and explained how to operate them, making him one of the earliest pioneers of the franchise business model.

The invention of soft serve allowed for another innovation: the ice cream cake. Carvel went on to make some of the most iconic frozen sweets in history that are still enjoyed today, including the beloved Fudgie the Whale. Fudgie was introduced in 1977 and was apparently the result of a happy accident. The Carvel team was trying to take a picture of a whale cake, but the tail kept breaking off. Someone decided to cover it in fudge to hide the problem, and history was made once again.

In 1989, Carvel sold his company for $80 million. He and Agnes had been together for over half a century at that point, and they transformed the ice cream industry. It's a heck of a legacy for an ice cream man whose $15 truck once got the luckiest flat tire in history.