Boozy ice cream has taken over Toronto this summer and has now made its way north of the city to Markham.
At Reign Dessert Cafe, a new dessert spot near Donald Cousens Parkway just south of the 407, you can find bubble waffles, ice cream and a variety of drinks. Sean Bandong and Rachel Chow both started this project at the age of 22 after graduating from university in the middle of the pandemic last spring. This prompted them to take a chance and open a cafe close to their home in Markham.
"We got inspired by other small businesses that were able to survive during covid. We always had a dream of running our own business but we never thought it would be this soon," said Bandong.
Reign Dessert Cafe specializes in their alcohol infused ice-cream that they make fresh in-house. There's something for everyone from "Too Fire" made with Fireball, Dulce de Leche and cinnamon, the "Hennything For You" infused with Hennesey, Dulce de leche and gold flakes, or the Rum Forest Rum made with matcha, sweetened condensed milk and rum.
They also carry regular ice cream scoops too for those holding off on the alcohol with flavours ranging from Vanilla Toffee, Monster Cookie, Coffee and vegan flavours. Other signature items on their menu are their drinks––Butterfly Lemonade, Thai Iced Tea, Matcha Latte, Strawberry Milk Latte and Iced Green Tea.
"As of now, both of us work everyday in the store and it just feels right because we built the store from the ground up," said Chow.
Both Chow and Bandong mentioned renovations took them over five months and couldn’t have done it without the help from their friends and family. They installed the flooring, built the counters, created the flower walls, and even made the menu boards themselves. They're looking forward to the next step which is meeting and engaging with their customers.
Reign Dessert Cafe is located at 302 Copper Creek Drive in Markham, Ont.
