DelloR Ice Cream is the first establishment to serve rolled ice cream in Calgary. The business that started in 2016 as a pop-up shop serving Calgarians on the streets of Stephen Avenue and summer night markets, was started by former business students; Rebecca Chen and Dan Bui.
The University of Calgary students left the company in 2017 allowing husband and wife Paul Delorme and Sylvia Khuu, along with other family members, to take over.
They have succeeded in making the establishment into a brick-and-mortar store, and now the family-run business is planting its roots in the northeast area of the city.
From south to north
Despite delloR’s southern beginnings, Khuu says a central location was best for the store.
“The northeast kind of really didn’t have much ice cream shops other than the generic [brands],” she says. “So we figured a central location would be good for north and south, so that’s when we decided to open up on Edmonton Trail.”
The location also allowed delloR to be a part of different communities and attract customers of different ages.
“We do have the mommy groups … and we do have the families that want to come in,” says Khuu.
“We are kind of in the centre of Bridgeland, Crescent and Ramsay and we try to engage with [these communities] and a lot of families kind of try to get us involved in their little community things they do too.”
Keeping it simple
Delorme says there are still many customers who have never experienced ice cream made fresh in front of them.
“They love the process of it,” he says. “They’d say the flavours were very good, more of a really creamy flavour rather than that overly sweet flavour you get with a lot of ice creams sometimes.”
Real apples, strawberries and mangoes are some ingredients used to create the different flavours of delloR’s rolled ice cream.
These ingredients get chopped and mixed on a cold plate along with a liquid base that consists of eggs, sugar, milk or cream — in the end creating a thick, creamy texture that make up the rolls.
With no added preservatives, serving creamy and natural-flavoured ice cream is one thing the couple prides themselves with, other than the classic theme of flavours they maintain to accommodate Calgarians of all backgrounds.
“We kind of wanted to keep it very simple,” says Khuu of delloR’s menu that consists of familiar flavours like cookies and cream, s’mores, mango, strawberry and more.
However, delloR also occasionally brings in their take on diverse flavours like the Asian black sesame and matcha ice cream through their seasonal menu.
DelloR is located on 1309 Edmonton Trail N.E. For more details, visit their website.
The Calgary Journal visits delloR to discover how they make their rolled ice cream. Under new management, delloR is still the first establishment to serve the frozen dessert in the city and here’s how that happens. Produced by: Rosemary De Souza
Editor: Rayane Sabbagh | rsabbagh@cjournal.ca