It was a sweet, sweet welcome for Lake Cowichan’s newest business on April 17.
Mountain Man Ice Cream, located at 99 South Shore Rd., is now staffed and ready to roll.
The operation is being spearheaded by 25-year Cowichan Valley residents, the Robertson family.
Former owners of the Bald Eagle Campsite in Chemainus, the Robertsons are a group of four brothers and their parents. They sold the campground in 2005 and the brothers went on to team up to start multiple businesses, while their parents have ventured into construction.
Despite two brothers living in Kelowna now, Mountain Man Ice Cream is still a family venture.
“We looked into what we thought Lake Cowichan needed, and what the summer tourism could support,” said family spokesperson Austin Robertson. “After tossing a few ideas around, we landed on ice cream — we figure it is something for all ages, and the proximity to the river float entrance is fantastic for foot traffic.”
After some testing, they’ve finalized their flavour list too, and it’s a long one. The 24 flavours include 21 from Foothills and three from Nestle and are: bubble gum, cotton candy, mint chocolate chip, tiger, cookies & cream, cookie dough, birthday cake, pistachio with almonds, sea salt caramel fudge, New York cherry cheesecake, all Canadian moose, coconut, wet paint, shark attack, no sugar caramel crunch, lactose-free strawberry sensation, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate peanut butter, maple walnut, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, Coffee Crisp, Kit Kat, and roly poly.
What’s more, there’ll be a couple of coconut-based vegan options from Screamin’ Brothers, too.
“We can’t wait to get some feedback from locals on what else we can serve at our shop: coffee? sandwiches? smoothies?” pondered Robertson.
The sky is the limit for this entrepreneurial family.
“We are looking forward to expanding throughout Vancouver Island and beyond,” Robertson said.
For now, their focus is on the shop in Lake Cowichan, which will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
“But those hours will likely be extended during the busy tourism season in Lake Cowichan,” Robertson said.
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Mountain Man Ice Cream opened April 17 at 99 South Shore Road. (Sarah Simpson/Gazette)
