In the early 1980s, Rob Guerra used to sell ice cream at Jones Beach State Park located on Long Island, New York. Guerra quickly became known as “The Fudgie Wudgie Man” from the beach. His uncle Antolin frequently accompanied him on the beach and encouraged Guerra to approach New York State and apply for a permit to legally sell ice cream on state property. Guerra approached the concessions department on several occasions and was rejected. In January 2005, Rob’s uncle was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. After hearing the news, Rob took his uncle to the beach as his request. It was a cold, rainy January day. Sitting in the heated car, they reminisced how they sold ice cream 20 years earlier and how Antolin had wished Rob had sought to obtain a permit for the sales rights. Three weeks later, Antolín passed away. Heartbroken Rob made a promise as he knelt in front of his uncle’s coffin he made a promise that he would do everything in his power to obtain such permission. It took seven years of persistence and constantly hearing the word “NO” but finally in 2012 Beachside Valet was born. Since then, Rob has expanded his beach services by offering in addition to blanket to blanket ice cream sales, beach chair and umbrella rentals, kayak and bike rentals, as well as special event productions on the sand. Affiliates continue to grow with locations in New York, Florida and Cartagena Colombia. You can watch a short video of this fascinating story at the link below.