Innocent Ice Cream has started a Kickstarter to help with its new space
Earlier this year, Riley Park-based ice cream shop Innocent Ice Cream announced it would be leaving its space in order to relocate to the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood.
The locally founded brand, known for its plant-based options and house-made ice cream sandwiches, had been at its 4895 Main Street location since 2017, but said that “we lost our lease.”
Before that, it operated out of a pink mobile bicycle cart, founded in 2015.
At the time of the initial announcement, Innocent shared that it was “time for us to move on to a larger space so we can serve you better,” but also noted the major challenges involved in small businesses finding feasible commercial spaces for rent in the city.
The brand noted that, all too often, the available spaces are “too small, run by questionable landlords, lack amenities, astronomically priced or saddled with demolition clauses.”
Innocent has shared that the “newly built shop on Hastings Street” had a projected opening timeline of Spring 2023, but the past few months of construction have led it to go over budget by $70,000.
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In order to curb some of these costs, and to finally open its doors to the new space, the plant-based ice cream brand has started a Kickstarter in order to get some help from the community.
“I began the build with projected costs of $135,000. This was to cover the framing, boarding and the painting of the walls, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC,” owner Asacia Biln explains in the Kickstarter campaign. “My partner, Chris, and I were prepared to do all the flooring, millwork, and cabinetry plus all the finishing. Some of which we had a bit of experience but most of it we were going to learn on the way. Thank you, YouTube!”
Rising costs of both supplies and trade work have meant that this initial quote no longer reflects how much opening the new shop is actually going to cost and, “after borrowing money from family and friends and selling almost of everything of value that I own, we are still experiencing a shortfall of $40,000,” says Biln.
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The goal for the campaign is $12,000, but Biln hopes to raise up to $40,000 in the just 12 days that the campaign is running. As of publication, they’ve raised $23,325, surpassing their original goal with just five remaining days to go. The campaign ends on Sunday, July 9.
“Any little bit helps. Thank you so much for your support these past years and I look forward to being able to serve you for many more!” Biln says.
If you’d like to contribute to the building of Innocent Ice Cream’s new space, you can find the Kickstarter here.