New hidden slushy bar opens in Toronto just in time for summer
A new slushy bar hidden at the back of a Toronto jewellery store just started churning up blended beverages earlier this month, and it might just become the city's newest summertime fixation.
Slushies had a real moment in Toronto during the summer of 2025. From Gateau Ghost's decadent matcha creations to the coffee slushies designed to pair perfectly with breakfast sandwiches at Dad's, folks couldn't help but get their frosty fix wherever they could.
Another major standout of the summer 2025 slushy race could be found, of all places, at Dundas West jewellery shop, Armed. There, a Diet Coke slushy served inside the can from which its maiden form emerged, made a sizeable splash, both online and among the community.
"[Last summer,] Diet Coke was really viral on social media. I've been a DC lover my whole life, and you just can't get a DC slushy anywhere in the city. So we decided to make one for personal use, and then we thought, 'This is actually pretty good, I feel like people would like it,' so we brought it to the store last summer, and in June, and it really took off," Armed owner Desiree Girlato tells blogTO.
When spring 2026 began to show itself, Desiree, along with her husband, Austin Roberts, knew that the Diet Coke slushy had to make a comeback, but this time around, Armed's slushy operation would be bigger and better than ever.
Thus, Hank's Chill, the slushy bar tucked into the back of the store, was born.
Named after their son, a two-year-old who Desiree jokes is "about 90 per cent [virgin] piña colada these days," the slushy bar sees the return of the DC slushy, alongside new flavours piña colada, an instant best-seller, and rotating others: strawberry lemonade kicked off the roster this month, but other flavours like matcha pistachio and, perhaps, a non-alcoholic Aperol slush, are on their ways.
The slushy bar officially opened for business on May 1, 2026, but it wasn't until the Victoria Day long weekend, when the city got its first substantial dose of summer weather, that Desiree and Austin got their first taste of just how great a sensation Hank's could become in the coming months.
"We weren't sure what to expect, [because] this is really the first dip of our toes into providing a culinary experience, if you will, and it popped off this weekend," Desiree says. "We were slammed Sunday and Monday, those two really warm days, and it was so exciting to see that people are just as excited as we are."
For now, the bar specializes in zero-proof beverages, but Austin and Desiree tell blogTO that they're even working on potentially getting a liquor license to serve slushies with a little extra somethin'-somethin' at some point this summer. If all goes well, they add, a seasonal, standalone Hanks location could be in the cards for 2027.
For now, though, you can grab a slushy (ranging from $3.75 to about $7 depending on flavour) seven days a week out of Armed Jewellery at 903 Dundas St. W.
Get it while it's hot! Er, cold, I mean.
