MANSFIELD — Friends are typically for random road trips and ice cream sundaes on Saturday nights.
But three good friends took their friendship to a new level when they bought a food truck together earlier this year.
Matt Reed, 41, teamed with his cousin Faith Holbrook, 29, and her husband, Chris Holbrook, 38, in April to buy the Sunset Slush food truck from former owners, Liz and Travis Landon.
“Friday nights are like our ritual, so now we are going to hang out on the food truck,” Reed said.
He worked as a Verizon Wireless district manager before he gave up his job to focus full-time on the food truck business.
Chris Holbrook, also a Verizon employee, intends to keep his position, and Faith Holbrook works as a licensing coordinator for SSIP Insurance Partners, 1112 Lexington Avenue.
“Faith is my cousin and Chris is my best friend,” Reed said, “so there’s no one else in the world I’d want to be in business with.”
“Us either, just for the record,” Faith Holbrook chimed in.
Reed met Chris Holbrook 22 years ago, and the two became best friends. Later Reed would introduce Chris to his cousin, Faith. The couple has been married for about nine years.
From Friday nights to Sunday mornings, the trio spends all their time together. As members of Diamond Hill Cathedral, 500 Tingley Ave. They prayed about the decision before buying the truck.
“It felt like this was exactly what we were supposed to do and it came together completely right, so here we are,” Reed said.
The food truck, renamed CFM (Chris, Faith, Matt) Concessions & Sunset Slush, will continue to sell Italian Ice concoctions, but will now offer a few food items, too.
To start, they decided to create two wraps — Asian chicken and Buffalo chicken — and baked chips.
They chose these menu items to offer healthier options at the events they attend. They also don’t want to step on any toes.
“We’re not in this to compete with other people,” Chris Holbrook said. “We have our product and they have theirs.”
So far they’ve received positive feedback.
Italian Ice options include the gelati, sun shake and a sun drizzle.
“Everyone knows what a McFlurry or a Blizzard is,” Chris Holbrook said, explaining how to make a sun drizzle. “Add Italian ice to it.”
All three admit it sounds strange, but say when people try the sun drizzle, they consistently come back for more.
“Literally, you can mix any of these together because we’ve done so many trials,” said Faith Holbrook, “and you think how can you mix soft serve, cherry Italian ice, and Oreos? But it’s delicious.”
Chris Holbrook called the Italian ice a “homerun-hitter.”
He’s tried other ices in the past, but argues that Sunset Slush offers the best.
“I honestly believe you can taste as many different Italian ice companies as you want, and ours is the best,” Holbrook said.
The three new business owners also have three carts that sell only the ice. Their locations will be posted on their Facebook page.
CFM Concessions & Sunset Slush is also available for weddings, birthdays and graduation parties.
