Solar-powered ice cream returns to Crestwood this summer
Bestie, Kind Ice Cream's seasonal outdoor shop, has reopened at Crestwood Community Hall with nine signature flavors and the beloved Bubblegum.
Bestie is back. The summer-only ice cream shop run by Kind Ice Cream has reopened at Crestwood Community Hall, operating entirely off the grid from a solar-powered shipping container.
The concept, which launched last year, is simple: ice cream without infrastructure. Solar panels and a high-efficiency battery system keep the product cold even on the hottest days. The shop uses minimal propane as backup but aims to run 100 per cent solar for the entire summer.
Currently available are nine familiar Kind flavours — Birthday Cake, Chocolate Milk, Real Deal Strawberry — plus the return of the exclusive Bubblegum, made from scratch tutti frutti ice cream mixed with pieces of classic bubble gum. The combination is oddly compelling: creamy base, familiar sweet-tart gum snap.
Weekday hours run 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; weekends 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The setup at Crestwood keeps the footprint small and the experience lean — a shipping container counter, no seating, cash-friendly ordering. It's the kind of neighbourhood fixture that builds word-of-mouth and shows up on Instagram without trying.
For anyone supporting local while chasing summer dessert, Bestie represents the kind of constraint-driven creativity that works. A solar ice cream shop in Edmonton shouldn't work, but it does — and the product tastes like it was made with more thought than a typical shop-window counter.