Local business expands to bring small batch ice cream to Kingston’s Market Square

Kingstonians and tourists alike will have something delicious to cool off with this summer.

On Thursday, May 26, Churn Small Batch Ice Cream opened its doors in downtown Kingston. Located on King Street, directly across from Springer Market Square, the shop offers a wide variety of unique flavours to choose from.

Visitors may notice some familiar faces serving up their scoops, as this shop is the most recent project of Kingston’s famous Mio Gelato.

“It was now or never,” said Erin Allen, operations manager of Churn, referring to their decision to open last week.

Behind the scenes, Mio Gelato has been expanding. Allen said that there has been talk of building a factory for about five years, but the idea did not come into fruition until early 2021. She also said that they have obtained a location for the factory on Innovation Drive in the east end of Kingston, where wholesale gelato will be produced. But with more creative flavours and ideas in mind, Allen also wanted to branch out into something new.

So why ice cream instead of gelato? “We wanted to do something that wouldn’t be in extreme competition with Mio Gelato,” Allen said.

So far, engagement from the community has been overwhelming. “It’s been amazing,” said Faith Green, store manager of Churn. “We’ve had a pretty great turnout so far. There’s a lot of Mio Gelato fans who are coming in, and a lot of people who’ve seen us on Instagram, … so it’s been awesome so far.”

Allen said that there has been a lot of foot traffic to the store as well. This undoubtedly has to do with its prime location, which is one of the main reasons they jumped on the space when it became available.

So what mouth-watering items can you look forward to when visiting Churn? According to Green, a popular choice has been the frosted animal cookie flavour: “It’s super tasty and super colourful. It’s very exciting for all ages.”

“Also, we have a cosmic brownie, which has been super popular,” Allen added. “It’s chocolate with brownie pieces and rainbow chocolate chips.”

If those flavours aren’t enough on their own to tickle your taste buds, the shop also has a variety of toppings and sauces to customize your dessert.

Whether you’re out and about downtown in the summer sun and seeking a cold confection, or you’re looking to support a local business while reaping all the sweet rewards, Churn is one of Kingston’s newest hot spots to cool down, offering just one more way to make summer in Kingston chill and cheery!