Ice cream man relocates
BIBLE HILL — A beloved ice cream man is now serving tasty treats and cakes out of a new location on Pictou Road in Bible Hill, less than two kilometres away from his former home storefront.
Known for homemade ice cream cakes, slices, cones, milkshakes, banana splits and sundaes, Sean Macdonald enjoys putting smiles on the faces of his neighbours at 902 Proud Ice Cream Cakes. But with a growing business, it was determined by the county that his College Road property would need to be rezoned in order to stay. In December, he saw a shop in the strip mall at 274 Pictou Rd. was up for rent, weighed the costbenefits and decided to make the move.
“It was the next logical step for my business as I wanted to expand my menu offerings to my customers and pretty much needed a full retail location to be able to do it,” said Macdonald.
And he said being in the plaza off the corner of East Court road is the perfect opportunity to introduce a new drink line, serving specialty coffee, tea, hot chocolate and Italian soda to the area. The first shipment of Italian soda and popping pearls — juicy and fruity balls that pop when bitten — have just arrived from British Columbia.
At the new location, customers can interact with Macdonald inside, instead of waiting outside a window at the College Road site.
“We put lots of glitter into the paint to make it sparkly, and there’s holographic strips running up the walls,” said Macdonald. “Because to me, ice cream is about happiness and I want people to come in and feel happy.”
He said he will miss the convenience of being in his own home but sees it as an opportunity to separate work from home life. Now it’s just getting used to the back and forth, and there’s still transitioning work to be done. Ice-cream cakes will continue to be made at Macdonald’s home until he sets up a facility in the back room.
Though wintertime is normally slow, the popular cakes had people seeking his new location before the signs were even up. Macdonald opened the store on Valentine’s Day for just a couple of custom orders, and it ended up being “just nuts.” When stopping by on Heritage Day with his girls for a drink, he found people waiting outside and opened it again. With the launch of speciality drinks, he is now returning to daily hours.
“It’s been a very positive turnaround effect, so I’m very grateful for everything,” said Macdonald. “I have the best customers.”
Two years ago, Macdonald started the business with a homemade freezer pushcart he set up at various locations in Truro. In 2019, he established a storefront out of his home preparing and packaging custom cakes of a wide variety of flavours, including some gluten-, peanut- and lactose-free options when available.
And although the business is no longer at home, the Macdonald family continues to frequent at the new location.
“My eldest daughter works here and, over the summer, my next-oldest wants to come down and work,” said Macdonald. “My three-year-old boss, she’s just kind of shadowing right now. All four of my girls like being down to see the people and their friends and contribute to what they can do.”