A family-run mobile ice cream business in pirate colours, covering remote Sterling neighbourhoods, a riverside summer market, and a peony farm festival off Robinson Loop. This is the verified record of what the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise was, who ran it, and where things stand now.
The Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise was a mobile ice cream and frozen snack business based in Sterling, Alaska. It ran from July 2016 to May 2022, covering the Kenai Peninsula through five consecutive summer seasons. It worked markets, community events, school visits, and residential roads that most commercial vendors never reached. It is not currently trading. Its Facebook page, @TJRScallywag, has been inactive since May 2022.
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What Was the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise?
The business was registered at 36297 Cottontree Lane, Sterling, Alaska 99672, founded on 30 July 2016 as a sole proprietorship. The Better Business Bureau opened a file on 7 March 2019 and assigned an A+ rating. No complaints are on record. BBB accreditation is voluntary and requires a fee. The Jolly Rogers never applied, which is why the A+ rating sits without an accreditation mark beside it.
The name carries two readings at once. Jolly Roger is the skull-and-crossbones pirate flag, which gave the truck its branding and its Facebook handle. Rogers is also the family’s actual surname. The pirate identity was not a marketing overlay dropped onto the business from the outside. It was the family name on the side of a truck.
AT A GLANCE
Founded 30 July 2016 Address 36297 Cottontree Lane, Sterling, AK 99672 Phone (907) 394-0403 tjr.icecreamtruck@gmail.com BBB Rating A+ (not accredited) @TJRScallywag Last public activity May 2022
Sterling, Alaska in Summer: Why the Town Was the Right Setting
Sterling sits on the western Kenai Peninsula, 11 miles northeast of Soldotna and roughly 130 miles from Anchorage by road. At the 2020 census the population was 5,918. The Kenai River forms the town’s southern boundary. Its eastern edge borders the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, nearly two million acres of protected wilderness and the most visited wildlife refuge in Alaska.
The river is what fills the town each summer. The Kenai draws anglers from across the country and internationally, chasing salmon runs that peak between June and August. The standing world record Chinook salmon was landed here on 17 May 1985 by Les Anderson, a 97 lb 4 oz fish that has never been beaten. The Swan Lake and Swanson River canoe trail system, accessed directly from Sterling, covers more than 120 miles and is one of only three designated wilderness canoe routes in the entire United States. Southcentral Alaska gets between 16 and 19 hours of daylight through June and July, which pushes outdoor activity and visitor spending well into the evening across the whole summer season.
A four-month stretch of long evenings, thousands of visiting anglers and campers moving through, and families spending full days beside one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world. That is the environment a mobile frozen treat operation is built for.
Who Ran the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise?
Brent Rogers is listed as the registered owner in BBB records. Maryanne Rogers ran every aspect of the daily operation across all five seasons. She worked every market date and event booking, managed all customer communication, and ran the Facebook page under the handle @TJRScallywag. She signed off on posts as “Captain Scallywag.”
The Scallywags in the truck’s name and handle were the Rogers children. They were part of the business from the start, present in the branding and in the reason the truck eventually stopped running.
What the Jolly Rogers Ice Cream Truck Stocked
The truck carried pre-packaged, pre-frozen stock only. No soft-serve machines, no hand-dipped cones. For a single-operator mobile business covering remote Alaskan roads, that kept the whole setup manageable without additional crew.
| Product | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ice cream bars and sandwiches | Core daily stock |
| Popsicles | Including limited-run specialty varieties, described in a July 2021 post as “nationally sought after, hard to find” with no holds offered due to limited supply |
| Frozen Big Papa Dills | A frozen pickle novelty introduced in summer 2021 |
| Pickle pops | The only confirmed sugar-free option the truck carried |
| Hot dogs | Sold at community events including the annual Peony Festival |
| Snacks | General selection alongside frozen stock |
At the Soldotna Wednesday Market, Maryanne also rented out camp chairs for $2.00. Private bookings for parties and local events were available throughout the active years, with enquiries directed to (907) 394-0403 by text.
Where the Truck Operated: Markets, Schools, and Back Roads
The Jolly Rogers built its circuit gradually across five summers on the Kenai Peninsula.
Soldotna Wednesday Market at Soldotna Creek Park was the most consistent public venue. The market runs every Wednesday from June through August, 11am to 6pm, along the Kenai River in downtown Soldotna. It has been running for over 15 years and hosts more than 60 vendors weekly alongside the Levitt AMP music series. The truck appeared across multiple confirmed dates from May through late July 2021.
Gibbons Peony Farm at 35535 Ridgecrest Circle off Robinson Loop, Sterling, hosted the truck at its annual U-Pick Peony Festival in July 2021. The two-day event ran Friday 11am to 7pm and Saturday 11am to 6pm, with live music from local performer Mike Morgan, food vendors, and public access to cut flowers at $3.00 per stem. The Kenai Peninsula carries some of the oldest peony farming land in Alaska, with a harvest window from mid-July through September when fresh-cut peonies are largely unavailable from growers elsewhere in the world. The farms draw their own summer crowds, and the festival placed the truck at one of Sterling’s busiest outdoor gatherings of the year.
K-Beach area schools received visits from the truck, confirmed by a September 2016 review from school representative Shawna Roberts Vlasak.
Sterling residential neighbourhoods made up a large part of the regular circuit, covering remote stretches far from the main highway.
What Customers Said About the Jolly Rogers Ice Cream Truck
Six reviews sit on the Facebook page. All six recommend. The reviews were posted between August 2016 and April 2019. These are direct quotes, unedited.
Carrie Fairbanks, August 2016: The truck had come down a dirt road in Sterling “2 1/2 miles” to reach her family. “The kids loved it.”
Shawna Roberts Vlasak, September 2016: Wrote to thank the truck for visiting K-Beach to help students celebrate “their incredible behavior.”
Jamie Harper, October 2016: Described the owners as “great people and so willing to come out for special occasions at a moment’s notice.”
Heidi Tomrdle, May 2018: “I never thought I’d see an ice cream truck on our little road so far out of town. My kids were so excited!”
The recommendation rate on the page sits at 100%. The business carried no paid advertising. Every customer came through word of mouth or the Facebook page.
A truck that drives 2.5 miles down a dirt road in rural Alaska to reach a single family is making a deliberate choice about what kind of operation it wants to run. That choice, repeated across five summers and documented by the customers who experienced it, is why people are still searching for this business years after its last post.
The Sale Listing, the Final Season, and the Goodbye
On 3 August 2021, Maryanne posted that family obligations were limiting how often the truck could get out. The business went up for sale. She was direct about her preference: a buyer from the Kenai Peninsula, not someone outside the area. Several outside offers had already come in, she confirmed in the post, but she was holding out for a local operator who would keep the truck running in the communities it had spent five years working.
No public announcement of a local sale was ever made.
The 2021 season closed on 31 August. On 16 May 2022, Maryanne posted for the last time:
“Our final Scallywag graduates high school this week, so it was time for a change. We want to thank all of our Peninsula Peeps for all of your support over the past 5 years. We are grateful and blessed.”
The page has not been updated since.
Where Things Stand in March 2026
There has been no public activity from the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise since May 2022. The Yelp listing is live but unclaimed and carries no customer reviews. The BBB profile remains active with its A+ rating and a clean complaints record.
The business ran for five summers with no paid advertising, no fixed public premises, and no team beyond the Rogers family. It closed in May 2022 with a 100% recommendation rate. Whether it reopens or passes to a new owner has not been announced publicly. The contact details on record remain the only route to finding out directly.
- Phone: (907) 394-0403
- Email: tjr.icecreamtruck@gmail.com
- Facebook: @TJRScallywag
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise ice cream truck still open in Sterling, AK?
Based on all available public information, no. The final Facebook post went up in May 2022. No reopening, change of ownership, or return to service has been announced since then. The phone number (907) 394-0403 is the only active contact still listed if you want to check directly.
Who owned and operated the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise?
Brent Rogers is the registered owner according to Better Business Bureau records, with the BBB file opened on 7 March 2019. Maryanne Rogers handled all operations from the founding in July 2016 through to the final post in May 2022, covering every market appearance, event booking, and customer interaction across all five seasons.
Where did the Jolly Rogers ice cream truck operate on the Kenai Peninsula?
Confirmed stops included the Soldotna Wednesday Market at Soldotna Creek Park, the annual Gibbons Peony Farm U-Pick Festival in Sterling, K-Beach area schools, and residential routes across Sterling including remote roads far from the main highway. Private event bookings took the truck to locations across the wider Kenai Peninsula area.
Was the Jolly Rogers Taste of Paradise available for private events and parties?
Yes, throughout its active years. Private catering was a confirmed part of the business, with bookings handled by text to (907) 394-0403. Given no public activity since May 2022, direct contact at that number or via tjr.icecreamtruck@gmail.com is the only way to confirm whether any service remains available.
