Every now and then, a truly unique and exciting new business comes along…
Allow us to introduce you to Dolly.
Dolly is a 1978 Volkswagen Bay Window Pick Up, born in Hannover Germany. Some time in the early ’80s, she was exported to Switzerland, and then to Poland. Now, her proud owners are Ann Marie and Jonathan Stoker from Darlington.
And what’s so special about Dolly?
Following a drastic restoration, she is now a mobile sweet shop, carrying thirty varieties of traditional and contemporary sweets. The business goes by the name of Annie’s Truck Shop, and trades in and around the North East, serving a host of different events from private parties to weddings.
Jonathan says: “A friend of ours has a VW Wedding Transport business, and had bought Dolly as a restoration project. At the time, the van was little more than a box of lego!
“Dolly was fixed up and painted, but our friend was too busy to do anything with her, so we ended up as the new owners. We then worked out a whole new image, coming up with the idea of the shop area on the back, and sent her off for the frame, cover and canopy to be fabricated.”
Customer experience is everything at Annie’s Truck Shop, which is why all of the sweets are weighed using traditional scales, and served in classic paper bags.
Ann Marie says: “We really didn’t know how we’d be received, or where we’d end up. Dolly was completed four days before our first event, and by the time it was over, we’d been invited to two more!”
It was at one of these events that Dolly and the Truck Shop team met the VW community, who welcomed them with open arms. Seeing the gleaming paintwork and unique brilliance of their van, it’s not hard to see why.
Annie’s Truck Shop is available to hire, and details can be find on their Facebook page. To find out more, give them a call on 07941188965, or email anniestruckshop@gmail.com.
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