Amongst the many restaurants, shops and unique places to visit in Uptown Waterloo, a spot to go for ice cream has yet to remain in the core of the town.
This past July 1, however, Scoop Du Jour opened up on 28 King Street North in Waterloo. The food-truck-style ice cream shop is located right next to Chainsaw.
Scoop Du Jour held its grand opening on Canada Day. For the occasion, the ice cream truck served a special flavour for Canada 150 that featured maple cream cookie chunks and a real maple syrup ripple.
Open daily from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., the newest spot in uptown provides customers with a variety of rotating artisan ice cream flavours.
Scoop Du Jour means “scoop of the day,” explained Calvin Humphrey, manager of Scoop Du Jour.
The ice cream truck’s main feature is their daily flavour of the day.
“What we try to do is we have a bunch of flavours from different artisan ice cream makers in the area then we change the flavour each day so someone can come and try it for a little less than the regular price,” Humphrey said.
Customers can come to the truck and purchase the flavour of the day in a cup for three dollars, while most other flavours can be purchased for five dollars in a cup.
What makes Scoop Du Jour unique from other ice cream connoisseurs in Kitchener-Waterloo is their focus on sourcing local, Canadian ice cream.
Currently, the ice cream truck receives their local, artisan ice cream from three suppliers, Shaw’s Ice Cream being one.
“We continue to change [our sources] so people can get kind of the best ice cream in the area without having to leave Waterloo,” Humphrey said.
In addition to the flavour of the day, Scoop Du Jour has also introduced various other unique incentives to visit their truck, such as alcoholic ice cream floats.
Every Wednesday, customers can purchase a scoop of ice cream from Scoop Du Jour, then bring it next door to Chainsaw to combine it into an alcoholic ice cream float for those who want to add a kick to their ice cream.
The location of the food truck also stems from its connection to Chainsaw. An owner of Scoop Du Jour, Ryan Good, is also part-owner at Chainsaw, thus making the proximity to one another a more feasible location.
“The location was already here and there isn’t really another great spot to get ice cream in Uptown Waterloo,” Humphrey said.
Despite Scoop Du Jour’s proximity to the construction and various closures around Uptown Waterloo Humphrey explained that business has been consistent.
“It’s just starting to get the word out that we’re open and here,” Humphrey said.
