What’s New and Soon-to-be-New at The Merry Dairy

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With spring itching to spring, it’s easier to say goodbye to winter with thoughts of things new. And with new in mind, here are five new things at The Merry Dairy this springlysummerly season. PS – Looking to order a Sweet Lemon Ice Cream Pie? Click here 🙂

 

1. Tracking the Trucks from 2012 to now!

 

It all started in 2012 with a truck that could be tracked as seen in this ancient Instagram post 🙂

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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And now, in 2019, it’s time for two trucks – one with frozen custard soft serve and scoops, and a second scoops-only truck. And with that in mind, we are happy to announce a new addition to the family – a 1976 Grumman Stepvan that is being refreshed and rewrapped and will be ready for our real spring in May. Interested in booking this newest member of the family? Visit catering at TheMerryDairy.com!

 

 

2. Flavours Now Updated Every Day at TheMerryDairy.com!

 

 

Wondering what’s being scooped today at 102 Fairmont? Now a quick visit to The Merry Dairy’s homepage shows all the flavours available that day. Flavours change daily, sometimes more often than that! Have a flavour to suggest? Call 613-680-3144 or write info@themerrydairy.com!

 

 


3. More options!

 

Being nut free has meant being able to serve an entire community of people who would otherwise not be able to enjoy a cone! Non-dairy and vegan options open up that possibility for many others! Handmade Merry Pops have always been a non-dairy option, and we’re pleased to announce we are expanding our options to include nut-free vegan scoops made fresh in store at 102 Fairmont! Just like in the image above, vegan flavours are updated daily.  Suggestions for flavours welcome at info@themerrydairy or 613-680-3144  – and just remember they need to be nut free!

 

 


4. Even more options!

 

In addition to The Merry Dairy’s signature midwest-style vanilla frozen custard, topped with our very own salted caramel, chocolate, strawberry or other sauces, starting later this spring, we’ll also be offering a fresh custard flavour of the day! Check the website and social media for the calendar of what flavour will be featured when. Have a flavour you want … once again, that number is 613-680-3144 or info@themerrydairy.com … And the truck returns to 102 Fairmont as well with The Merry Dairy’s Jersey-style soft serve!

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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a scoop of vanilla midwestern style frozen custard pairs perfectly with a roasted peach sticky bun!🍑 #treatoftheday #frozencustard #vanillafrozencustard #ottawaeats #peaches🍑#roastedpeaches

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5. And finally, A Merry Canada Day Across Ottawa!
 

 
Hosting a bash on Canada Day Eve June 30 or Canada Day itself? Track a Maple Leaf festooned Merry Dairy truck straight to your door anywhere in Ottawa! Booking details to be published soon, stay tuned to The Merry Dairy’s Facebook page for information! Not here for Canada Day? Watch out for sign up details for Truckin’ for Mom (May 12, 2019) and Back to School on Labour Day* weekend!

 

 

*er, Labour Day should never be discussed before the month of August … webmaster

Did someone say gift?

A gift of a small cone of your choice, today on this snowy Saturday, March 30, 2019 for all subscribers of The Scoop, current and new. Simply show a copy of today’s edition when you visit 102 Fairmont between noon and 9pm today!

Reading this on Sunday, March 31? Today it’s a buck off a cone – just show your scoop newsletter during your visit to 102 Fairmont!

 

 

Wakey, wakey … February 2nd is National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day!

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Photo Credit: MJ Boswell from Annapolis, Md, USA [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons


Started by a mom in Rochester, NY at the mid-point of winter, National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is, according to Wikipedia, now celebrated in countries all over the world including Canada, Nepal, Namibia, Germany, New Zealand, Honduras, China and Israel.


Whether it’s six more weeks of winter or not, The Merry Dairy reopens on February 2! Come on down between 8am and 2pm for a waffle topped with special flavours – oatmeal “chookie, coffee, Froot Loops, Grape-Nuts, blueberry lemon, maple frozen custard and candied bacon, roasted banana, London fog, strawberry sunrise Merry pops, and of course chocolate & vanilla!


Wear your PJs and get a free hot chocolate or coffee! Vegan flavours – toasted coconut, blood orange sorbet, grapefruit sorbet!

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A $5 tag to say thank you for 2018!

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What a year 2018 was! Our first full year of operation included lots of new flavours, a fantastic team, and some awesome events. And as 2018 comes to an end, it’s a reminder that a great time to give is now.

For the final weekend of 2018 before we close for the month of January, The Merry Dairy will be giving a $5 gift certificate (one per email address!) to all who tag their favourite charity in the comments below, or on these Facebook, Twitter or Instagram posts!

Then just fill in this short form (also below) so that we can email your gift certificate to you by email in early January! But make sure you’ve done this by midnight on Sunday, December 30! On December 31, we’ll do a post listing all the charities.


We’ll get the list rolling by tagging OrKidstra, who was our charity of choice for December when we committed a portion of our sales all month. We are happy to report we beat our own goal and raised over $500! Thank you for making The Merry Dairy part of your holiday tables, birthdays and other special events!

Here’s to Orkidstra!

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There are so many great organizations in Ottawa that do so many great things. One of those is Orkidstra. This month, Merry Dairy customers learned that a portion of their purchases was going to help sponsor a child in one of Orkdistra’s wonderful programs.

We are happy to report that we reached our goal and were able to raise over $500! Thank you for including us on your dinner tables, birthdays, weddings, special events, bike rides, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Canada Day, Porchfest Day, and of course, National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day!

And now it’s our turn to say thank you to you with a small Merry Dairy gift. See this post for more details!

Three Merry Procrastination Cures … and the best cure of all!

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The days are counting down. Slowly but surely, the nightly glow of holiday lights is a reminder that proctrastination is no match for the annual moment when you realize that Christmas wins once again …. Here are three procrastination cures … 🙂

Cure #1: A Merry Dairy Gift Card! Pick up a card in store at 102 Fairmont, or get a virtual card at shop.merrydairy.wpengine.com!


Cure #2 … Pop by on Saturday, December 15 from 2-5pm for The Merry Dairy pop up shop with hot cocao and Yule Log samples to go along with pints, cones, and special gifts like a re-usable Merry Dairy Pottery Pint, local honey from Richmond, and Christmas Stollen!


Cure #3 …. Yule be a hero at the office or in-law Christmas party with a Merry Dairy Yule Log! Buy online and pick up at the store!


And the best cure of all … And a portion of all sales this month go to sponsor a child in a magical  Orkidstra music program!

Dull objects, Halloween hair and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

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Boo! Three events to mark the occasion ….. 
Event #1 – Meet the Neighbours – Bring Your Knives

Things around Halloween seem dull? Things like knives, scissors, shears, garden tools and lawnmowers? With winter coming, stay sharp!

JC’s Mobile Sharpening will be at 102 Fairmont Saturday, October 27th from 1-5pm to grind the dullness away from the Halloween season and keep our objects sharp and ready for anything. Every sharpening has its price and you can find the price list here. And every sharpening gets a $5 Merry Dairy coupon good on purchases of $25 or more. 

Event #2 …. Hair-riffic Halloween Fairytales!

Has it really been 30 years since Whitesnake, one of the great Hair bands of the 1980s, told us in song that they were on their own again, going down the only road they’ve every known? Well, that road on Sunday, October 28th takes you straight to Mint Studio’s “Hair-riffic” Halloween Fairytales where the fairytales of our youth, take a nightmarish twist. Kind of like 1980s hair bands. The Merry, er Scary, Dairy will join in the ghoulish night with special treats but also takes this opportunity to remind all moms, dads and caretakers that this event is for older kids and adults. Admission is by donation to the Parkdale Food Centre! Will Whitesnake make a guest appearance? Only the spirit knows …

 

Event #3 – La Grande Nuit … Halloween!

By Halloween night – Wednesday, October 31, it’s back to 102 Fairmont for a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Halloween night in partnership with Orpheus Musical Theatre as they gear up for their production in mid-November at the Meridian Centrepoint Theatre of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Come one come all to a night of Merry Dairy Halloween treats featuring spooky flavours, and a chance to win two tickets to experience the performance and get a $2 off coupon for a Merry Dairy cone of your choice and one last moment with the truck before it moves off the lot for its winter hibernation!

PS* – I Love You? But what about cinnamon, funfetti or cookies & cream?

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Whether or not you’re hosting, need a host or hostess gift, or you’re the one who has been tagged for dessert, this is the time of year to profess love of pumpkin spice.  
The Merry Dairy has pints and cakes of pumpkin spice, made in store, ready to be loved …  Cinnamon pints and ice cream cakes make a great alternative, or play the hits with a kid-friendly Vanilla Funfetti or Cookies & Cream cake.
Looking for gluten-free – all flavours, except Cookies & Cream, have a gluten-free option. Need to guarantee a cake for this weekend? Order by Wednesday night (October 3) at TheMerryDairy.com   Or pop by the store this weekend for new fall flavours – scooped or in pints! The Merry Dairy will be closed Thanksgiving Monday. Open noon-9pm Thanksgiving Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
 
 
 
 
 
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Beginning today, the shop is closed on Mondays. Every other day it is 12-9pm! #scoopshop #icecreaminthefall #smallbatchicecream #myottawa

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*PS = pumpkin spice and Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

15 minutes longer …

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School starting? Summer ending?

 

Remember Labour Day weekend when you were a kid? Is there a weekend with more mixed up emotions about the return to school and the end of summer?

 

Maybe there was that feeling that summer could just last 15 minutes longer … And this weekend, on Sunday and Monday, The Merry Dairy Truck seeks out summer all over the City of Ottawa with 36 stops of 15 minutes each over two days stretching from Carp to Cumberland to Metcalfe to North Gower!

 

They say Ottawa is a big city. And it is. It is also an amazing collection of neighbourhoods, city and apartment blocks, rural roads, farm fields, parks and monuments. 

 

All day long on Sunday and Monday, Track the Truck across Ottawa as it makes 36 stops of 15 minutes each here, there and everywhere with chocoloate/vanilla/twist soft serve, ice cream sandwiches and Merry Pops!

 

This page has all the info to see the schedule, see the stops, and track the truck in real time.

 

Can’t check out a stop? Then check out 102 Fairmont for handmade, fresh flavours, all made in-store! Summer tunes will be playing all weekend long with (what’s left) of our amazing summer team – (because several of them have already left for school outside of Ottawa!) and meet some new members of the fall team!

 

Whatever the emotion is this weekend, Labour Day is a Labour of Love at The Merry Dairy!

 

Dinner? At The Merry Dairy?

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Every once in a while we are lucky enough to partner with someone very special. And on a Monday!!

Tonight, Monday, August 13, Sula Wok, home of the Tibetan Momo (and much much more), visits 102 Fairmont beginning at 5pm and will have items from their amazing menu available for take-out until 7:30pm.

This is an image about the Asian-inspired Sula Wok cart coming to The Merry Dairy!

Then at 7:30, The Merry Dairy will close early for our (back-to-school??) staff party and Sula Wok will stick around and celebrate with our wonderful team to enjoy a beautiful summer night before school starts! 🙂

Today it’s peaches, Wednesday it’s …..

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Do I dare eat a peach? It’s the dare of a season. And is there anything as sweet and worth waiting for as an Ontario peach? Poet Li-Young Lee‘s ode to roadside peaches speaks to the reaches we’ll go for peaches. And now that they’re in season, we have the reason to put the squeeze in for some all-natural, store-made peach ice cream. Available beginning this afternoon, Sunday, August 5, for a few peachy weeks.

  And then by Wednesday, August 8, it’s our second annual National Frozen Custard Day, with a dollar from each soft serve and scooped frozen custard cone going to benefit Salus Ottawa, an amazing organization in our community that provides supportive housing for people with persistent mental illness. It’s a small way to show our support for an important cause that helps so many. Want to help them even more? Make a donation directly to Salus and be a part of those who give hope!

 

One year ago this week, we opened our doors on 102 Fairmont following a four month long renovation and with the support of friends, family, and of course our amazing customers it has been a year to celebrate. From now until 8pm Monday, August 6, we are asking our customers to share their memories over the past year, and we’ll be drawing randomly from responses on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and comments to this post for four ice cream cakes – including a peach ice cream cake! 

  And speaking of Civic Holiday Monday, we will be closed, reopening with regular business hours on Tuesday.  Here’s to a peachy weekend and to lovely bike rides all over our beautiful city, maybe even on one of the new VeloGo bikes now located at 102 Fairmont!

 

 

#tbt to ONE year ago tonight when we opened our door and took down the paper. What a ride – through our Grand Opening, The Scary Dairy, to Christmas and Name Days, to Ice Cream for Breakfast Day,the Winter Olympics, Mother’s Day, Canada Day and the World Cup! Tell us your favourite Merry Dairy moment for a chance to win a Merry Dairy cake. Thank you to our wonderful customers, our amazing staff and the friends and family who supported us along the way! Draw will take place Monday August 6th. p.s. we are closed Monday August 6. 📷 credit to @jvlphoto for the first two photos in this slide show. Swipe to see before and after renovations. #myottawa #icecreamshop #frozencustard #renovation #igersottawa #scoopshop #hintonburg

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Hello 1990s – it’s nifty GIF time!