‘Goog’ to go

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This article was published 27/11/2018 (2701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Goog is coming. Run for your lives.

The Goog is a favourite treat at iconic ice-cream shop Bridge Drive-In. BDI is expanding into Kildonan Place Shopping Centre next month.

“We feel Winnipeggers, this being the Slurpee capital, still enjoy frozen treats even in the winter,” co-owner Justin Jacob said.

No word on whether Kildonan Place will crank up the thermostat to get more people craving cold treats. BDI is opening its food-court shop in winter because that’s downtime for its flagship location and allows them to focus on the new outlet.

It will operate in the food court, in the spot vacated last March by Mrs. Vanellis Italian foods outlet.

The bigger question may not be why BDI is expanding, but what took it so long?

Established in 1957, the ice-cream shop gets its eponymous name from its location on Jubilee Avenue leading into the Elm Park footbridge. Lineups at the location on the Red River are a Winnipeg rite of passage.

Justin and Jessica Jacob only bought the company six years ago from Jessica’s grandparents, Allan and Wanda Rutherford, who obtained it in 1974 from Lawrence and Irene Savard.

Justin graduated from the University of Manitoba Asper School of Business and then obtained his CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant), and Jessica is a nurse practitioner.

The new owners started testing the waters for expansion by opening a satellite shop at the University of Manitoba about a year ago. BDI also operates a seasonal truck.

Its U of M outlet in a food-court setting provided them with an understanding on a smaller scale of what they would need to operate in a mall, Justin said.

Kildonan Place is managed by Primaris Management Inc., a division of H&R REIT, which runs malls across the country.

“So, we can use KP almost like a pilot project and see how it goes, and that might develop into more expansion across the country,” said Justin, 34.

At Kildonan Place, BDI also serves another end of the city. Kildonan Place also has a great appeal for BDI as it’s in one of the city’s hottest real estate development markets.

That includes new subdivisions like Devonshire Park (2,800 homes), Devonshire Village (209 homes and 10 condo and apartment buildings), Starlight Village and Kildonan Green. Harbourview South is also spreading out. The extension of Reeders Drive behind Kildonan Place has expedited traffic flow.

“With all the new residential construction going into the area, we thought it was a great fit for us,” Justin said.

From its side, Kildonan Place was really interested in BDI for two reasons. One, customers have been asking for an ice-cream shop. Two, it’s a local company and there aren’t many local companies in malls. Sweet C Bakery is another local business in the KP mall.

“Everyone is really excited about it. We’re getting great feedback on social media,” KP marketing manager Corey Quintaine said.

“To have a local business like that, especially an icon like BDI, can really bring customers in,” he said.

The mall BDI will be open year-round, versus the flagship shop, which is open roughly from spring break at the end of March until Halloween, depending on the weather.

A Goog is like a blueberry upside-down cake. There’s a shake at the bottom, then a layer of sliced banana, and on top of that, a hot fudge sundae, topped with peanuts, whipped cream and a cherry. And it’s a gluttonous portion.

One of the newer specials Justin and Jessica came up with is the Salzburg: it comes in a Nutella waffle cone and has vanilla ice cream, dipped in chocolate, drizzled with sea-salted caramel and topped with whipped cream.

BDI will be looking to come up with new specials, including ones with a seasonal flavour, like candy canes and gingerbread over the holiday season.

BDI is tentatively scheduled to open Dec. 8, but that will be subject to things like safety inspections and licensing.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca