Toronto ice cream shop permanently closing due to rising costs
A neighbourhood Toronto ice cream shop known for its inventive flavours and cake-batter cones is officially closing its doors this fall due to rising costs.
Brett's Ice Cream, located at 3148 Kingston Rd. in Scarborough, is set to bid farewell to the community on Nov. 16. Besides its creamy scoops, which come in a variety of classic flavours plus fun additions like cannoli and blueberry cheesecake, the shop sells iced coffees, milkshakes, and even mini donuts.
In an announcement shared to its social media page, owner Brett Young revealed that the ice cream shop is gearing up to close its doors at the end of the season. As expected, the heartbreaking post resulted in a flood of reactions from locals, many of whom had made Brett's a summertime tradition.
"Super bummed over here — our family LOVED visiting this location for weekend treats. We'll miss you but glad to know your other location is still fairly close, so we'll see you soon," one customer wrote.
"It's a tough time right now — you are making a necessary and healthy business decision to ensure the time will come and you will be back bigger and better. We love you here in Kingston Road Village," another person said.
Young tells blogTO that each year, the shop's inventory, operational costs, and staff wages rise, and rent was also due to increase.
"These rising costs combined with below-average sales made for a tough situation. At the start of this season, I chose not to increase our menu prices as I know budgets are limited across the board," Young explained.
"Furthermore, a non-negotiable for me is paying the staff above minimum wage as they also have to deal with rising costs in their own personal lives."
Currently, Young says she does all the marketing, accounting, HR, and overall day-to-day operations for the business, so downsizing will help grow and sustain Brett's other location, also located on Kingston Road.
"As a seasonal business, we rely heavily on our summer sales, so a location that has more traffic, walkbys, or alternatively, a pop-up location that we could rent through the summer would be great. I would love to be back in Scarborough, so will be keeping my eyes open for any opportunities," Young says.
For now, you can still get your ice cream fix at Brett's only other location at 1007 Kingston Rd.
Jesse Milns
