Return of a local favourite: Milky Way opens again

REGINA – After a winter in hibernation, a popular ice cream shop has opened its windows ready for business.

Milky Way Ice Cream decided to open a week earlier than usual due to warm weather and steady demand.

Jeret Friesen was the first customer of 2016, ready at the front of a short queue just before 11 a.m. Sunday morning.

“This is the best day of the year so I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

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“I’ve been ordering a chocolate vanilla twist since I was a little boy and it’s still my favourite to this day,” Friesen said.

Milky Way’s red and white storefront has been a familiar sight on Victoria Avenue since 1956. While the city has shifted and grown around it, the small shop remains mostly true to its original design.

“It’s pretty well almost the same,” Milky Way co-owner Anne Boldt said. “We added a little more room at the back but the front part has always been the same. We haven’t changed much.”

Customers lined the street by mid afternoon, excited for one of the earliest opening days in the shop’s 60 year history.

“It feels great. We just love it here,” said Boldt. “It feels like coming home to our family.”

Milky Way used to aligned its opening day with the official start of spring, March 20th. Eventually, that changed to opening as soon as the weather was warm enough for a cold treat.

Many in line for ice cream said opening day means an unofficial start to spring.