Cuneo’s Ices: Public rally in support of family ice cream company at risk of losing Endcliffe Park licence

Andrew Cuneo, the owner of Cuneo’s Ices, the oldest ice cream firm in Yorkshire and Derbyshire, fears a van which has traded at Endcliffe Park for over a decade fears it may be forced to leave its pitch.

The Cuneo family has sold ice cream for 160 years and currently has seven ice cream vans across Sheffield including one which parks outside Endcliffe Park.

Cuneo’s traded inside the park for 10 years but lost that pitch after being outbid three years ago but the firm has continued to trade outside the park on Rustlings Road.

At the end of 2022 officers from Sheffield Parks and Countryside objected to the Rustlings Road licence being renewed on the grounds that the van was competition to the vendor inside the park.

But in 2023 members of Sheffield City Council’s licensing sub-committee agreed to allow Cuneo’s to continue trading on Rustlings Road. The meeting heard that there was a lot of public support for the application.

Sheffield Parks and Countryside department objected, saying that there was too much competition for the ice cream van inside the park and the cafe, meaning that the charitable trust that owns the park, of which the council is sole trustee, would lose out on £15,000 a year in income.

This week, Sheffield Parks and Countryside officers made another objection to Cuneo’s latest licence renewal on the same grounds as before.

A petition has been launched campaigning for the ice cream van to be allowed to continue trading. Over 800 signitures of support have been added.

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Mr Cuneo said: “We are part of the community and people recognise the person serving them. Grandparents bring their grandkids to us because they have fond memories of getting ice cream from Cuneo’s as children themselves.

“The reason we always have a queue is because we sell good ice cream at an affordable price. We would never rip people off.”

The application is due to be heard before the licensing committee next month.

Sign the petition here.