There is a new seasonal ice cream shop churning out bars and scoops this summer. Two sisters and Rosedale natives, Chloe, 23, and Sydney, 21, have just opened Bar32, a new neighbourhood ice cream shop located at the location of a now-closed neighbourhood classic, My Favourite. My Favourite was an old Rosedale establishment that sold ice cream scoops for years. The closure of My Favourite after its 2019 season inspired Chloe and Sydney to start their own ice cream business.
Sisters Chloe (left) and Sydney (right).
The pair started Bar32 last summer when the sisters sold homemade ice cream bars out of a trailer in Muskoka. This summer is the official opening of Bar32's temporary storefront here in Toronto. Bar32 sells delicious small-batch ice cream bars made by Chloe and Sydney themselves using fresh, organic ingredients with no preservatives. They carry delicious chocolate-dipped ice cream bars that come in Dark Chocolate Strawberry, Madagascar Vanilla, Maldon Salted Caramel, Sweet and Salty Pistachio and White Chocolate Raspberry.
"In terms of getting into this space, we are obviously heartbroken not to be able to come to our childhood spot, but we wanted to bring back a location for that nostalgic summer outing with your kids, family and friends. We have been going to My Favourite since we were little with our parents and later we came as teenagers with our friends." Chloe shared.
Last summer, while many of us were stuck at home because of pandemic restrictions, these two sisters brainstormed ways to keep busy. They started making ice-cream bars selling first to visitors and residents in Muskoka before they opened this location in Toronto.
"We took a horse trailer and renovated it ourselves and parked it up in Port Carling, Muskoka," Chloe explained. "Luckily for us, a lot of people were not doing their summer travels to Europe and other places they might go, so a lot of people were at the cottage and we ended up doing a lot of delivery by boat. We would deliver to people's docks." Though the trailer is no longer operational, they still make deliveries in Muskoka on weekends only.
"At that point, last summer, we exclusively sold bars; that is our brand, what we are proud of, what we are known for, our specialty." To stay loyal to their beloved ice cream store that was so much a part of their childhood, they decided to sell ice cream from the same suppliers as My Favourite (Greg's and Denali Ice Cream) in addition to their delicious ice cream bars.
"My Favourite has been a family and neighbourhood for a really long time, we knew that moving in here, if we didn't have tubs, there would be a little bit of a disappointment. So, we started carrying the same third-party supplier as the people that were previously here so we could ease the neighbourhood into something new,” Sydney explained.
You need to check them out before the end of summer. Bar32 is a seasonal business, and the store front is set to close. Their store front is set to be turned into boutique office space in the coming year. Chloe, recent UBC Business grad, and Sydney, who is in her final year at UBC studying Law and Psychology, will decide later what their next move is. For now, the ice cream bars can be purchased at their store front location until the end of summer or if you are located up north in the Muskoka region, the bars can be purchased for scheduled delivery, online on their website.
