An Edmonton small-batch ice cream company is reaching out to its supporters for help in opening its first location in the city.
Dished reported a while back that DRTY Ice Cream, a Filipino-inspired ice cream company, would be opening its first permanent location in Edmonton at Station Park. After delays to the concept, an opening date is finally in sight.
However, owner Abby Ulanimo is calling on the community to help fund the final steps to making DRTY Ice Cream’s first store a reality.
“What started as a passion project to discover my Filipino heritage and just learn more, and also share my love of ice cream has now transformed into an amazing community that is focused on coming together and supporting each other,” Ulanimo said in an Instagram post.
“The last four years have been nothing short of amazing, but they’ve been hard.”
After first launching DRTY Ice Cream in 2020, Ulanimo has experienced a number of setbacks, including multiple car accidents, which totalled her vehicles and the theft of machinery and inventory, which she added had “severely affected” her and her ability to earn money.
“I have exhausted a lot of avenues to get funding. That being said, there are quite a few roadblocks that we have ahead of us,” she explained.
In order to finally be able to open DRTY Ice Cream’s Station Park location, a Kickstarter campaign has been launched to help the company raise $10,000.
“This money is going to help us jumpstart the initial costs and provide us with a little bit of breathing room,” Ulanimo explained.
As part of the Kickstarter campaign, supporters can donate to DRTY Ice Cream. Donation amounts correlate to different thank-you rewards, including everything from a DRTY sticker to the ability to create a custom flavour.
DRTY Ice Cream’s Kickstarter can be found online here, and donations are open until October 10.