Nitro Nostalgia Will Buy Food Truck With $15,000 Pitch Prize

Nitro Nostalgia, an ice cream parlor and board game cafe on the South Side, plans to purchase a food truck using the $15,000 grand prize it won in the 13th annual South Side Pitch competition last month. The shop, located at 4254 S. Cottage Grove Ave., opened in December 2024 and is owned by Father-and-daughter duo Garland and Kamillah Lucas.

Lucas said the prize money will fund mobile refrigeration equipment necessary to transport large liquid nitrogen tanks. This equipment will allow the shop to serve its signature ice cream at catering events and major festivals. He identified Taste of Chicago, Riot Fest, Lollapalooza, and the Chosen Few house music picnic as target events for the truck in 2027.

The remaining funds will cover employee payroll during the slow winter months and support a marketing campaign. Lucas noted that many residents within a three-mile radius were unaware of the shop's existence despite its social media presence. He stated, "We do good on Instagram and TikTok, through social media, but we need the local community to know we’re here as well."

The shop produces ice cream in-house using liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze the mixture, a process Lucas says creates smaller ice crystals for a creamier texture. The menu includes dairy, vegan, and sorbet bases with flavors such as Papa Don’t Peach and Purple Rain. Customers can eat in the lounge, which features board games ranging from Clue to Hip Hop Charades.

Lucas pitched the competition judges on the shop's partnerships with local organizations, including Salem Baptist Church, the Hiplet dance studio, and the Marillac Social Center. The business operates out of a former liquor store that the owners transformed into a family-oriented space. A lending library for children, run in partnership with Salem Baptist, allows kids to take books by Black authors home on an honor system.

The South Side Pitch is an annual business competition hosted by the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the UChicago Law School. Past winners include Moor’s Brewing, R City Kitchen, and Dinobi Detergent. Mamma Jamma Dance, a prenatal dance instruction service run by Kemeera Nimahat, took second place and the $10,000 prize. The company also won three additional categories totaling $7,000.

Vash Beauty Labs won third place for $6,000. South Side Sweats, a local fitness group, won fourth place for $3,000. Ehmage, a social media advertising platform, won fifth place for $1,500. Lucas, a Fenger High School graduate, described his first two years in business as challenging but supported by a network of fellow Black entrepreneurs.