A Long Island family has found a way to make their small business feel like a summer vacation.
For the Mann family, serving up delicious sweet treats is in their DNA
Their roots go back generations to a beloved bakery in Queens, NY, where locals frequented to grab their favorite pastries. And, on occasion, homemade ice cream.
Eric Mann recently shared with The New York Post that he left a job in electrical construction to keep his family’s “namesake” alive. Today, Eric, his wife Linda, and their daughters Caitlin, Amanda, and Cassidy sell premium, small-batch ice cream in Long Island, both classic flavors and creative combinations.
But there’s one additional, very whimsical bonus this family-run company offers: they deliver their product by boat.
“We figured, why not bring something that we love to the water?” Caitlin, who normally runs the boat with her dad, shared.
The 21-foot vessel is fit with a subzero fridge that can contain 30 gallons of ice cream, and cruises around nearby coves and canals with a phone number proudly displayed on top. Other sailors or waterfront dwellers then have two options: flag them down, or make a quick phone order.
The idea has made such a big splash that the boat now gets booked for parties and special events, and has become a staple of the area. Many don’t even know that the Manns have a brick-and-mortar on dry land as well. Kids and adults alike appreciate not only eating fresh, high-quality sweet treats, but the pure joy and novelty of seeing that boat nearing the dock.
The best of what small businesses have to offer
There’s something incredibly endearing about how the Manns have carried what started in that Queens bakery forward. Sure, the setting has changed, but the intention remains closely tied to creating community through carefully crafted food. Customers become extended members of the family with each wholesome interaction.
What makes the boat especially genius is how it transforms a small business into something that interacts directly with its surroundings. The waterways of Long Island aren’t just a backdrop; they become part of the operation itself. Weather, tides, and timing all likely play a role in the day-to-day rhythm, giving the work a sense of movement that a storefront alone could never replicate.
It also adds a layer of accessibility that feels rare in modern small business stories. Instead of waiting for customers to come to them, the Manns meet people where they already are, whether that’s out on a dock, anchored nearby, or passing through a canal. This can turn a purchase into an experience, one that people are just lucky enough to have happened upon.
In the end, the Mann family’s ice cream boat captures something many people tend to associate with family-run businesses: a sense of nostalgia, familiarity, and attention to detail that feels increasingly rare. But it also pushes that idea forward, showing that tradition does not have to stay fixed in order to stay meaningful. What the Manns have built makes room for both continuity and invention, where old-fashioned craftsmanship and new ideas about how to reach people can exist in the same daily rhythm.
The result is a version of family business that feels alive to the present moment, while still carrying forward the values that made it matter in the first place.
