Photo by Adam Ryan Morris.
Pop Life
Pete’s Pops are not your average frozen treats-on-a-stick.
Icy relief. The kind that eases the clammy discomfort of clothing sticking to skin like a Band-Aid. That’s the business Pete Cooney is in. The assistant controller for Bartolotta Restaurants by day, fruit pop producer by night, Cooney took to the head and heart a meeting with an avocado paleta – the Latin-American term for an ice pop. A few summers later came Pete’s Pops, which Cooney sells at events such at the Tosa Farmer’s Market and Newaukee Night Markets (track his whereabouts on Twitter and Instagram, @petespops). The idea of fruit pops in unusual flavors has turned heads unmoved by standard grape. Iced coffee, peanut butter and jelly, and pineapple jalapeno are three of the dozens of flavors Cooney has made. (At events, he offers six to 10 flavors, $3 each.) The Vietnamese carrot coconut pop uses coconut jellies that become freezy-chewy. My pick? Avocado, a creamy treat made with avocado, lime juice, simple syrup and a dash of salt.
