Manitoba

60 years of ice cream: BDI opens for the season

At the risk of jinxing it — spring is in the air in Winnipeg.

Other city fave Sargent Sundae opened on Thursday

For its 60th season running, the Bridge Drive-In in Winnipeg opened its doors on Saturday. (Julianne Runne/CBC)

At the risk of jinxing it — spring is in the air in Winnipeg.

On Saturday, the Bridge Drive-In on Jubilee Avenue turned on its soft-serve machine for its 60th season running.

BDI owner Justin Jacob said when the shop opened at noon, there were already a few people waiting outside to get their fix after a long winter away.

"After probably about four or five long nights and days, I guess, we finally decided we were going to open for our 60th season," said Jacob. "We kind of kept an eye on the forecast, saw that tomorrow's going to be really warm and we wanted to try to use today to I guess kind of work out the kinks and just make sure everything's working properly. So far, so good."

The March 18 opening is early compared to most years, but about a week later than last year, Jacob said.

In addition to the old classics, Jacob said the shop is bringing out new treats including a peanut butter and jelly flurry and a hot honey cinnamon sundae.

The business's new ice cream truck, which it unveiled last year, will hit Winnipeg streets as the temperatures rise, Jacob said.

Coming out later this summer will be a special, 60th-birthday cone, but Jacob said the shop is going to keep it under wraps until the reveal.

Another city favourite, Sargent Sundae, opened earlier this week.