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Coyote and Frosty’s ice cream summoning summer with seasonal reopenings

Getting the scoop on frozen treats
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Jody Oppold serves up a chocolate ice cream cone at Coyote Entertainment in Porter Creek. (Stephanie Waddell/Yukon News)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, at least for those looking forward to the slew of frozen treat options the summer season brings.

Many popular seasonal ice cream shops have or are opening their doors as the snow melts, with the Haines Junction Frosty’s being among the most recent to welcome customers on April 29.

The ice cream rush

In an April 28 interview, as he prepared for the annual opening, Frosty’s owner David Tomlin said the first couple of days of business are typically a “mad rush.”

“People got to come in for their ice cream,” he said.

The restaurant boasts 14 flavours of hard ice cream along with a long list of soft serve goodies.

A licensed establishment along the Alaska Highway, it also serves up burgers, fries and other meal options. It will be open every day until 9 p.m., with operations starting at 11:30 a.m. Monday to Friday and at 11 a.m. on weekends.

“We hope to see you all here this weekend enjoying a burger and an ice cream,” states a post on Frosty’s Facebook page.

Tomlin said he’s hopeful 2022 will be a busier season after COVID-19 has taken its toll on tourism — and subsequently Frosty’s — over the last couple of years. He acknowledged that it’s hard to tell what the season will bring as the increased price of gas could mean would-be travellers opt to stay closer to home.

A total of 16 staff have been hired for the season at Frosty’s with many being students who live in the community.

Expanding the business

Meanwhile, in the territory’s capital of Whitehorse, Coyote Entertainment has upped their ice cream game over the last year.

The shop, which started out as the video rental store in Porter Creek, expanded to offer soft serve ice cream treats through the summer a number of years ago.

In late 2021, they expanded the food service operations by opening a second location in Riverdale that serves up the cold treats throughout the year, along with a larger menu that also includes nachos, fries, hot dogs and more.

The Porter Creek store offered up its first ice cream treats of the season on April 4.

Just as the Riverdale location operates all year, the Porter Creek location will stay open after the summer season ends with changes made to the video store so that customers can order ice cream inside.

“We’re busy,” Coyote owner Cory Adams said. “Both locations are really busy.”

While the situation means a lot of work hours for Adams, it seems this was the right time to expand his business.

The early April opening for Coyote ice cream in Porter Creek meant that by the time Easter rolled around, a special, limited edition Mini-Egg twister was available at both locations for those wanting to mark spring.

Along with the cones, Twisters, sundaes and more, the store also has its own line of alcohol-infused ice cream available in containers that the over-19 crowd can take home.

Coyote’s Riverdale location is open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, while the Porter Creek shop operates from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. every day.

To Skagway and beyond

For Yukoners anxious to make their way across the border to Skagway, the popular Kone Kompany ice cream and fudge shop opened for the season on April 23, celebrating its 40th anniversary with 40 cent deals on pop, hot dogs and cotton candy, in addition to serving up ice cream.

The shop is operating under temporary hours until more staff are hired, typically opening at 10 a.m. or noon and closing between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. until May 3.

While many seasonal ice cream shops have opened their doors to a waiting public after a long winter, there’s also a plethora of year-round stores and services filling their freezers with frozen treats and turning on slushie and ice-cream machines to get ready for those long line of customers awaiting icebergs and more.

Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com



Stephanie Waddell

About the Author: Stephanie Waddell

I joined Black Press in 2019 as a reporter for the Yukon News, becoming editor in February 2023.
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