AC’s truck © Rosalie E. Leposky

For 30 years, the AC’s Icees truck – a converted GM delivery step van with a bright umbrella – has occupied a convenient location in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, just north of Bayshore Drive and Kirk Street in the Kennedy Park parking lot.

You can set your watch by its arrival at 11 AM and its departure at 6 PM. 

The owner of the AC’s Icees truck, Allan Cohen, holds the City of Miami’s first mobile concession permit.

AC’s customers come rain or shine, in warm or cold weather, 365 days a year. They come on foot, roller blades, or a skateboard, or by bicycle or car.

AC holding an Icee © Rosalie E. Leposky

They come for lunch, or for a quick sandwich or hot dog with an AC’s Icee (homemade lemonade made from fresh lemon juice, sugar, and pulverized ice), or just an Icee to quench their thirst after working out in the park or playing in a pick-up Frisbee, football, soccer, or volleyball game.

AC’s Icees lemonade comes in three sizes: small (12 ounces for $2.50), medium (16 ounces for $3.50), and large (24 ounces for $5).

AC sets Kennedy Park’s congenial and cooperative tone. The only time I’ve ever seen him angry was when an unlicensed “roach coach” set up shop along Bayshore Drive. Some interlopers have tried to intrude upon his fiefdom, but they never stay long.

He has an 835-member Facebook page built by the students at the nearby Ransom-Everglades Middle School, but he doesn’t own a computer or have an e-mail account.

City seat © Rosalie E. Leposky

AC likes being his own boss. Early each morning, he mixes the daily batch of frozen lemonade, then drives the truck to his parking space and opens his serving window. He’s a consummate fan of baseball, a topic upon which he and equally fanatic customers can converse at length.

Years ago, AC asked the telephone company to install a public pay phone for his convenience and that of park users. With the advent of cell phones, the pay phone became obsolete and was removed.

Outdoor seating and parking near the truck are limited, and if it rains, you’ll get wet. Dogs are welcome, which is important since Kennedy Park has a large dog park. AC’s Icees also is child-friendly, but children need adult supervision. The parking lot is very busy, and Bayshore Drive is just few feet away.

In the spring of 2008, the City of Miami and his Coconut Grove neighbors gave AC a 30th birthday party, including a cake and the installation of a permanent round stone seat. Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz and Commissioner Marc. D. Sarnoff, who represents Coconut Grove, signed an official city proclamation honoring AC for 30 years of “using ‘constant fresh lemonade’ to lift the spirits of the hot and the thirsty.”