BDI preps new Main Street location Original menu on offer, ‘infrastructure in place’ to add hard ice cream
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2024 (920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Bridge Drive-In has a ‘Goog’ surprise for northern Winnipeg: a new location.
BDI aims to open its second ice cream shop before the May long weekend at the corner of Main Street and Jefferson Avenue.
“We’re extremely excited,” said owner Justin Jacob. “We’re really looking to develop that into another long-term ice cream destination.”
The new site will differ slightly from the 67-year-old Winnipeg institution’s Jubilee Avenue eatery. Indoor seating, ice cream cakes and hard ice cream are on the agenda.
The roughly 1,500 square-foot Main Street hub might allow for four to five countertop tables and the ability to stay open “a bit later in the season,” Jacob said Thursday.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Owner Justin Jacob wants to introduce homemade seasonal ice cream flavours and could produce pre-made items such as ice cream cakes and cupcakes in the new kitchen..
On Jubilee, BDI serves ice cream through Manitoba’s warmer months.
The new space’s kitchen is larger. Eventually, BDI could produce pre-made items such as ice cream cakes and cupcakes, Jacob said.
He also wants to introduce homemade seasonal ice cream flavours. The BDI team has worked alongside the University of Manitoba to develop a hard ice cream recipe, he added.
BDI had previously partnered with the Winnipeg post-secondary institution to create a dairy-free frozen dessert replicating vanilla soft-serve, made with lupin legumes. The new location could see BDI offering a hard ice cream version of the lupin treat.
“There’s infrastructure in place to add at least five or six flavours of hard ice cream,” Jacob said of the Main Street site. “We definitely want to be taking advantage of that.”
He believes hard ice cream will start being offered at the northern location; if all goes well, some product will be transported for sale at Jubilee.
BDI owner Justin Jacob serves up a cone of lupin-bean frozen dessert at the Jubilee location. The new location could see BDI offering a hard ice cream version of the lupin treat.
Otherwise, BDI No. 2 will carry the same menu as the original. The current site will not be changed by the new addition, Jacob said.
“It’ll be great to capture a whole new demographic.”
BDI had searched for a second location for some time, ownership said. It opened a spot in Kildonan Place in 2018, but opted not to renew the lease amid COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Everything had been going well pre-pandemic, Jacob noted, however, it just “didn’t make sense” to keep the location as lockdown rules persisted.
Jacob knows the Main Street building owners; he connected with them earlier this year and signed the lease.
“The combination with George’s creates a great burger, fries and ice cream destination.”–Justin Jacob
There’s a big parking lot — a real plus, he said. The shop is also next-door neighbours with an Original George’s Burgers & Subs location.
“The combination with George’s creates a great burger, fries and ice cream destination,” Jacob said. “We’re excited to work with them.”
BDI hasn’t yet advertised job positions for the new location. It’s on the horizon, as are open roles for Jubilee, Jacob said.
He expects to hire five or six staff for the Main Street site. At its peak, Jubilee’s BDI employs up to 25 people. It currently has roughly 12 staff.
Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association, called the news “awesome.”
“We’ve gone through so many years of losing restaurants and places closing,” Jeffrey said. “It’s refreshing to… see a local staple like that really investing in Winnipeg.”
At its peak, Jubilee’s BDI employs up to 25 people to serve all the customers who flock to the iconic location.
Eateries continue to close amid a harsh economy — higher operating costs, people cutting back on non-essential spending, Jeffrey noted.
“We’re super excited to see growth in any aspect. When things like this happen, it gives other restaurateurs hope that there’s a possibility.”
The BDI opening is “a great win” for the area, Jeffrey added.
The Main Street location still needs minor renovations, including paint and new signage.
Meantime, Jacob said he is still weighing plans for BDI’s ice cream truck, which has set up in Kenora, Ont., the past two summers. The truck will be around for local events, including school appearances, he said.
BDI’s Jubilee location opened for the season March 23.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
