Gold Creek's favourite ice creamery reopens with new owner and mobile option (but same flavours)

Questions marks were hanging over the fate of a long-standing ice cream store in the ACT’s far north earlier this year, but no longer.

Stripey Sundae in Gold Creek Village is officially coming back.

The previous owner, Glen Takkenberg, told Region in April he was selling up to spend more time with his family and return to his old job as an IT professional.

“I’m asking for $45,000, including all equipment, recipes and stock on hand,” he said.

“I’ll provide training on how to use my equipment and make my recipes during a handover transition.”

The store’s new face is Jayde McKendrick, a registered mental health nurse, wife to a firefighter and mother of two boys.

She heard about the opportunity at a time when she was feeling burnt out in her job at the Belconnen Community Health Centre. By June, she had taken over running of the business.

She’s now preparing to hand out the first ice cream during a VIP-only launch event on Sunday, 3 September. The store will then officially open to members of the public from 11 am, Thursday, 7 September.

“I’ve been a registered nurse for about 12 years, and I was just after a new challenge, something different,” Jayde says.

Jayde describes herself as “always a foodie”, and with a love for “making people happy via their bellies”. Before coming to Canberra in 2015, and while studying nursing, she also worked at a bakery for seven years, creating all manner of cakes, biscuits, and other sweet desserts.

She says the desire to return to a job like this grew even stronger during COVID.

“I’ve kind of kept an eye out for different juice bars, ice cream stores and that kind of thing, but I’ve always sort of pushed it to the backburner thinking I’d do it a bit later when the kids have grown up a little bit more.”

When Stripey Sundae came up for sale in Gold Creek Village, Jayde was struck by the heritage feel of the place, and the fact everything was made in store from scratch.

The previous owner, Glen, had also earned a reputation for how his recipes catered for a variety of food allergies and preferences, with vegan, soy-based, and fruit options. While she hopes to add a few new recipes, Jayde plans to stick to his list.

“There are over 50 flavours in the recipe books he handed to me.”

She will, however, introduce a tasting board where customers can sample four flavours for $18 and choose to have a scoop of their favourite one for free either on the same day or the next time they visit.

Stripey Sundae will also be able to make an appearance at weddings, corporate events and backyard parties thanks to a new electric cargo bike converted to a mobile ice-cream bar.

“It’s fully self-sufficient,” Jayde says.

“It’s got water plumbing, ice-cream freezers, a cute umbrella and we can ride it around just like a normal electric bike.”

She says the neighbouring businesses in Gold Creek Village are full of support for the resurrected store, and its facelift.

“It was pretty run down, so over the past couple of months, we’ve really got stuck into cleaning, painting, buying new furniture, that type of thing.”

Jayde will stay on in a casual nursing role at the Belconnen Community Health Centre, but the ice cream store will take the bulk of her attention. Her “three boys” include her husband, and six and nine-year-old sons, and have the honour of being her official taste-testers.

“And if things go really well, we might open another store or something like that.”

Stripey Sundae will be open from 11 am to 5 pm, Thursday to Sunday, starting Thursday, 7 September.