‘There’s nothing like it in Winnipeg’

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This article was published 08/08/2023 (1123 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Anshul Singla has been waiting in the strip mall parking lot next to the bright pink school bus for over an hour. His mission? Secure two cups of Khoya Gulab ice cream — one for himself and one to surprise his wife at work.

This is the second time in as many days Singla has visited Shake N Rolls, a new mobile ice cream business parked in Winnipeg’s Mandalay West neighbourhood.

“It’s so good. It’s like an authentic Indian (treat), it reminded us of our childhood and the ice cream man that came in the streets,” says Singla, who was born in Punjab and now lives in St. James, a decent drive from the food truck. “I’m not very fond of ice cream, personally, still you can see that I’m waiting for one hour just so that I don’t miss the chance.”

Shake N Rolls opened at the end of July and has quickly gained a loyal following for its original concept and flavours. Lineups form prior to opening and last well into the evening.

Newlyweds Param and Kulpreet Gill are the driving force behind the pink bus. The couple, originally from northern India, met in Winnipeg over Facebook five years ago and married in April. Neither envisioned spending their first year or marriage working long days shoulder to shoulder in the narrow galley kitchen of a food truck.

“It’s amazing working together, honestly, I’m on his nerves all day,” Kulpreet says with a laugh.

“She takes care of so much,” Param says, adding that their differing skill sets make for good teamwork.

She manages the day-to-day, while he oversees the financial and operational side of the business. The experience has given Kulpreet, a nursing assistant by trade, a newfound appreciation for entrepreneurship.

“He is so business-minded… when I met him, I wasn’t like that,” she says. “His thinking changed my mindset, so now I’m into business too.”

Working on the bus full-time has been a refreshing change of pace.

“You work hard, but you enjoy every moment, you get to see smiles on people’s faces, you’re delivering them something they like,” says Kulpreet, who’s taken a temporary leave from her position in an intensive care unit for the summer season. “In hospitals, it’s the opposite.”

By contrast, Shake N Rolls is a fitting mix of Param’s prior professions: food court manager and truck driver.

He moved to Winnipeg for school in 2016 and relocated to Brampton, Ont. with Kulpreet in 2021, seeking employment in the trucking industry. The couple purchased the bubblegum pink retrofitted school bus in Brampton and launched their ice cream business in the city before feeling a twinge of homesickness.

“We missed Winnipeg,” Param says. “The people of Winnipeg support local and the way they are supporting us right now is just amazing.”

They drove westward and rebranded, picking a new name and a new logo for the food truck. Shake N Rolls’ unofficial mascot is a blue dolphin named Eden, pictured jumping out of an ice cream cup. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the design.

“They’re the smartest creature in the sea, I just love dolphins,” Param says with a chuckle.

The Gills don’t take themselves too seriously.

While rolled ice cream — made by flash-freezing, blending and rolling together a creamy milk base and toppings on a special cold pan — isn’t a new invention, the couple has tapped into a local craving for Indian-inspired frozen treats.

“There’s nothing like it in Winnipeg,” Param says of the menu, which incorporates traditional Indian sweets like gulab jamun, jalebi, milkcake and gulkand into the ice cream. Standards — such as Oreo, strawberry and cookie dough — are also available.

“There’s a large community of Indian people here, so we were thinking we should do something for them,” Kulpreet says. “When we started, we were having so many Indian people coming here just for those four flavours.”

Despite being the new kid on the block, hour-long lines aren’t uncommon at Shake N Rolls. The queues are partially due to popularity spurred on by attention from local food influencers, as well as a labour-intensive preparation process.

The bus has two cold stations and it can take several minutes to assemble each order. The eye-catching vehicle is also stationed in a high-traffic plaza near a residential neighbourhood, drawing in curious passersby.

While they’re excited about the reception so far, the Gills have big plans for their burgeoning ice cream business.

“We want to serve all Canadians, we want to open stores all around the country,” Param says. “Our goal is to make a chain of stores, but we’re always going to keep this one,” Kulpreet says, nodding fondly towards the bus.

The food truck hasn’t even opened for the day yet and already there’s a gaggle of customers forming in the parking lot.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com | Twitter: @evawasney