Regina heat wave sends ice cream lovers flocking to Elle’s Cafe

As temperatures soared past the 30 C mark this week, Regina residents searched for relief wherever they could find it. For many, that meant standing in line for ice cream.

The early-season heat wave had customers flocking to Elle’s Cafe in Regina’s Cathedral neighbourhood. Owner Elle Grzeda said business has exploded as people emerged from a long Saskatchewan winter, eager for a taste of summer.

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“May is always our busiest month, and I feel like it’s a Saskatchewan effect where everybody is sick of being cold and indoors,” Grzeda said. “So once May hits and we finally get this beautiful weather, it seems like people swarm to the ice cream shops.”

But the rush this year has been more than anything Grzeda expected.

“It is crazy busy for us right now,” she said.

“We always know to be prepared for May, but it has been an absolutely insane year.”

Grzeda said the shop had been serving roughly 1,500 items each day during the recent stretch of warm weather.

The surge in customers created challenges beyond simply keeping up with orders. Staff also had to battle the heat while working.

“We operate on the street and we have windows that we serve out of,” Grzeda said. “It’s hard keeping it at the right temperature sometimes, just because we constantly have those windows open and we’re constantly serving customers.”

To keep staff – and the products – cool, she said the business relies heavily on air conditioning.

“We really have to pump a lot of AC into this building to keep our staff and all of our toppings and stuff at the right temperature,” she said.

For Grzeda, the busy days are the realization of a dream that began years ago.

Her first job was at Dairy Queen when she was 14. Although she later trained and worked as a hydro generator technician, Grzeda said she never stopped thinking about opening an ice cream shop of her own.

“It’s my dream,” she said. “I love the Cathedral area. We’ve had so many people come out and help us and kind of help grow the community.”

She said that the business has become much more than a place to grab a frozen treat.

“We wanted a place where all ages could come and enjoy the summer, enjoy Saskatchewan,” she said. “But it’s turned into so much more than just that.”

The shop’s popularity has also grown online. Videos posted by the business have attracted millions of viewers worldwide, leading to merchandise orders from across Canada, the United States and even Europe.

“It shocks me that people are wanting to support a little Regina business all the way around the world,” Grzeda said.

Among those stopping by during the heat wave was cyclist Andy Polishak, who was making his first ice cream stop of the season.

“I sit inside and hibernate all winter, so now it’s time to get out and lose some of those hard-earned calories,” Polishak said while taking a break from a bike ride.

He said the unusually warm May temperatures did not bother him.

“It’s given the air conditioner work at home, and definitely testing out the old internal AC today,” he joked.

For businesses built around Saskatchewan’s short summer season, the heat may have arrived earlier than usual, but owners like Grzeda were not complaining.

“It’s honestly the best job I think I could ever ask for,” she said.