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As the summer months come rolling in and we all remember that it can actually get quite hot in Santa Fe, locals start looking around for cool treats to make it all bearable. This town is no stranger to many a great paleteria, ice cream spot or cool dessert item, but for some, summer used to mean the return of Xzavian Cookbey and his Freezie Fresh ice cream truck and its particular brand of rolled ice creams. Then came a lull. Cookbey didn’t appear for three summers in a row (more on that in a sec), and though that was tragic for so many of us, he was always waiting, planning and preparing to unleash his next big ice cream thing. Freezie Fresh is back this year, everyone, and Cookbey has phased into the scoops game in place of rolled ice cream. With months of heat on the horizon, we reached out to see what the wait was about and where to find Freezie Fresh’s beautiful blue truck this summer. This interview has been edited for clarity and concision. (Alex De Vore)
You took a break for three years. What caused that and why did you decide to return?
Yeah, it was about three years. I had reached a point in the business where I knew I wanted to scale up, and I realized how rolled ice cream wasn’t a viable product to achieve those goals. I always had the intention to reopen, but I also don’t think there was a day when people didn’t approach me. That constant reminder that people missed the product and the business was really good, really helpful.
As for scaling, there was the time thing for sure. It took, like, two minutes and 30 seconds per rolled ice cream order, so if I’d get a group of five people, immediately I was slammed. And during COVID, with the labor shortage? That didn’t help. The people who I brought into the truck all left, and the only thing they told me was the product was labor-intensive and intimidating, so employee retention was a concern. It just required too much time to make and the labor…I also wanted to create a product and company where I could pay people better.
So your fans didn’t handle the absence particularly well. Are they embracing the new product?
Y’know, I feel like people reached out and constantly checked in, and now that I’m back, the things I’ve heard have been like, ‘I didn’t get ice cream, I didn’t know where to go!’ That [the fans] are still here, and I know they’ll welcome me back? It’s an example that I’ve been missed, and I feel the support.
The scoops…they are embracing it. One of the things I wanted to retain was the quality and flavor I was able to achieve with rolled ice cream, so I spent a lot of time wondering what freezer would help me achieve that taste and quality, for example, but it’s also the same recipes, same quality of flavor. It’s familiar, it’s just a lot faster.
If we want to find Freezie Fresh, how do we do that—and what is the top order you’d recommend when we do?
You can find me on social media
(@freeziefresh on Instagram), and you can also go over to my website at freeziefresh.com. And the plan is that I’m going to keep my truck at 781 W Alameda Street every day I’m open so people know where to find me. For now, I’ll just be at that location Thursday-Sunday, and I’ll probably extend the hours on June 1 to noon-8.
And for what type to get? Oh, man, I love each product I make, all the flavors, but I have a complete bias for anything lemon—so try the lemon cream. Oh! Or try the salted caramel with red chile. It’s sweet, it’s salty, it’s spicy. It’s a journey of a flavor. Experimenting and trying new flavors…I eat more ice cream now. I can’t get away from it, because of the amount of possibilities and the different things you can do. I get excited, like, if someone tells me about something I should try, some flavor, I have to try it. I’m looking to do two rotating flavors this summer, maybe some local fruit or something. I think I want to get a little out-of-the-box with my toppings, so that’s where I’m going to shine with some funkiness there. I’m thinking I want to do something with rosé wine and strawberries or something. Or I want to try to get my hands on some edible flowers for toppings.
