It's not a large building by any means. It does not have big glossy signs that draw your attention to its presence, and it sits right in the heart of a residential area in Wawota. But what Mrs P's ice cream shop lacks in physical stature, it more than makes up for in reputation. And the people of Wawota know it, as evidenced by the steady stream of customers that make their way through the door.
Mrs P's is run by Debbie Phillips and her husband Allan. The shop sits at 202 Railway Avenue, and it's been open since 2008. But if you ask Phillips how the business got going, she'll point to that opening date as being "the short version." The long version goes back to the late 60s, and it makes for an interesting story.
"This was Aunt Dorothy Lincoln's house" Phillips says. "She took it over from her Dad. I remember as a little girl, there was a birthday party for cousins, and I was sitting on the chesterfield that never seemed to move over the years. I looked over at the window into the sun room and thought this would make a fantastic place to serve ice cream."
And so was born the seed of an idea, a dream in the mind of a child that never left as the years of adulthood arrived. But it would be many years before the dream came into reality. Phillips went into the health service and worked as the head cook at the nursing home in town. Several different roles and responsibilities came and went over the decades, but at the back of her mind, the memory of that childhood idea remained.
In 2007, the opportunity arose to buy the house. Suddenly the dream came forward as a possibility just waiting to happen. The following year, to the great excitement of the people of Wawota, the ice cream shop opened its doors, and the flood of customers began. For the first two and a half years, both Phillips and her husband still carried full-time jobs outside of the shop. It was a hectic time during which the business continued to evolve.
Where a single kitchen table once stood, new tables and chairs now grace the sun room at the front of the building. A patio was added at the back, and new ornaments appeared on the walls. The menu has increased too, with a new line of special sundaes, with tempting names like Hot Fudge Brownie, Pecan Delight, Cherry Blossom Special and Carnival Sundae.
In 2010 the couple retired from their jobs and the business became their focus. Their season runs from the first day of May through to the September long weekend, with Mondays and Tuesdays as their days off. "Our ice cream shop is twice as busy in 2011 as it was in 2008" Phillips says, "While we do put ads in a few places, it's word of mouth... People spread the word." And they do indeed, on a typically busy day, the shop will serve anywhere between 100 and 190 customers from noon to 9 p.m. One hectic homecoming day, they served 600 people.
And as if to prove it, the interview had to stop for a while as 10 people walked in the door, and then another seven. A few minutes later, Phillips came back out the kitchen and sat at the table again. "People are addicted to chocolate" she says with a happy smile. "Rusty Nail, Chocolate milkshakes, and you would be amazed at how many gallons of hot fudge we go through."
"This is a happy business" she continues, "There's no downside to it. Everyone who comes in is happy to be here. We have no plans to go into burgers and fries" Phillips says "Strictly ice cream. We'll keep in this business as many years as this is fun. We really can't expand as we're limited in space, and we cannot change the signs as this is a residential area, so we can only change the menu."
And what a menu it is. A look at the list on the wall shows the availability of soft or hard ice cream, sundaes, milkshakes, waffle bowls, waffle cones, floats, banana boats, caramel cones, slushies and twisters. Flavours abound too. Wild cherry, maple walnut, butterscotch, pineapple, strawberry, butter pecan and blue raspberry to name but a few, no wonder the place is a magnet for young, old and all ages in between.
"We also do catering the whole year round" Phillips adds, "We've catered for anywhere between 340 people right down to 10 people. We have a fully-licensed kitchen."
Clearly, for this cheery lady, a momentary childhood dream was a flash of inspiration, and it is wonderful to see it blossom into a valuable and popular service for the folks in Wawota
.
