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Fundy Scoops to open second location in Victoria Park in Truro, N.S.
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TRURO, N.S. — There’s no better complement to a warm summer’s day than a cone of ice cream.
Soon, residents and tourists alike will be able to enjoy their cool treats in Victoria Park, as Fundy Scoops plans to open its second location at the popular destination. The first location is on Highway 311 in North River.
Titled Fundy Scoops Too, the social enterprise will be holding its grand opening on Friday, May 19. It will be operating out of the old canteen near the splash pad.
“As a social enterprise of (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colchester), it’s all about what we can do to support the programs,” said manager Chris McPhee.
During the winter, McPhee said they ran a job readiness program for teens ages 14 and up. Wanting to get them as much experience in the workforce as possible, the idea of a second location was proposed.
“We talked to the town last fall and the ball starting rolling. (We) got everything approved between the town council and our board, and this way we can bring on half a dozen extra kids for the summer.”
Victoria Park was a prime spot for their second location, said McPhee.
“We’ve always done well here,” he said about the North River location. “A little different set-up. This is more of a destination – people have to come to it, where there, people are already there.
“I think it’s going to be really, really good.”
One challenge they had to face is the size of the canteen, which limits both what they can have available at that site, as well as how many staff will be able to work at a time.
“We’re simplifying the menu – we’re not going to do milkshakes, sundaes, that kind of stuff. It’s more of a grab-and-go. Ice cream, freezies, cold drinks, probably bags of chips.
“It’s small,” McPhee laughed. “They won’t have a lot of room to work. It’s tight quarters, but we’re not going to need as many (employees) as we do here just because the menu is limited. The stuff we cut out is the stuff that takes a long time to make.”
The value of hard work
McPhee noted many first jobs for teens are often in retail or restaurants. For Fundy Scoops, he wanted to ensure he was getting the teens who may not have as much luck finding summer employment elsewhere.
“Some of the kids that I hire … it’s awesome because they’re kids I wouldn’t have dreamt of hiring anywhere else,” said McPhee, who has many years of management experience. “For whatever reason, whether it be lack of experience, social skills that they have to develop (still), stuff like that.
“Some of them just don’t believe in themselves. So, for someone else to believe in them … I’ve got kids that are just blossoming. They were here last summer and thought it was the best they were going to get. Now, they’re not back this year because they’ve got other jobs, expanding their horizons, going to university. It’s awesome.”
For McPhee, managing Fundy Scoops has also helped him feel fulfilled in his work.
McPhee has several ideas “outside of ice cream” for continuing their support of the Big Brother Big Sisters of Colchester program, including the use of the green space behind the North River location.
“We’ve got some pokers in the fire. You’ll hear about it next spring,” said McPhee.
For now, he remains focused on getting the word out that Fundy Scoops is not just any other small business, but a social enterprise for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colchester. McPhee said for every dollar that goes into their program, there is about a $23 return to the community at large.
“We’ve got a couple hundred kids in the organization, and we’re looking to expand farther out to some of the communities we haven’t been into. In the last few months, areas like Rawdon, which was underserved by us, Tatamagouche. We’re making matches up there now for the first time in a long time, and that costs money.
“The more we can do here, the more we can do out in the community. It’s cyclical: (the more the) community supports us, we’re able to pour more into the community.”
