nova scotians can't get enough of this ice cream flavour
5 minute read
julia rushton, accompanied by co-worker maria kinney, presents an ice cream cone at the window of heavenly scoops in enfield on saturday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
even during the sweltering days of summer, ice cream is all about flavour of choice.
“mariner’s sea salt caramel,” julia rushton says emphatically of the top preference at heavenly scoops, an unimposing little shop located on the perimeter of the st. bernard’s church parking lot along highway 2 in enfield.
“if we don’t have it, sometimes people will just walk away,” said rushton, 21, in her third summer working at heavenly scoops to defray the tuition and related costs of a health information management program at nova scotia community college.
“i had to order six or seven (11.9-litre tubs) for a week because sometimes we go through one a day,” rushton said of the favourite among 21 flavours offered at the three-by-five-metre wooden shop that is just steps away from the church, the rectory and idyllic st. bernard park.
not too many people seem to be walking away from heavenly scoops, established in 2021 and culminating from a st. bernard’s ways and means committee initiative to raise money, a bevy of ensuing volunteer hours by handy local residents and invaluable donations of materials and equipment from area businesses.
appropriate portions
heavenly scoops’ sales can top out at $1,000 on a good day of doling out child-size, small, medium and large portions served in a traditional cone, a waffle cone or a bowl for prices ranging from $2.50 to $5.50.
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and there’s the pup cup, an extra-small scoop of vanilla ice cream in a bowl with broken cone pieces on top for those who like to treat their dogs.
“everyone,” rushton said when asked who stops by heavenly cones, which is open seven days a week from 12:30 to 8:30 p.m. from the may long weekend until the end of august or early september, however long the last ice cream order lasts.
“sometimes, people will say they come from halifax, or they’re from ontario and they are visiting, or they are from here,” rushton said. “i think some people just look up ice cream (online), and people tell them about it. we have facebook and instagram.
“during the day, it’s people who may not be working, sometimes it’s parents and kids, but it’s everyone.”
young and older can enjoy a heavenly scoop of ice cream at idyllic st. bernard’s park in enfield.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
rushton said certain customers even come twice a day.
“they say, ‘i’ll have the usual’ . . . and it is the mariner’s sea salt caramel.”
sarah white, co-chair of the ways and means committee, said the whole community in the enfield area, about 45 kilometres north of downtown halifax, came together to build and support the ice cream outlet, an idea that in part imitated the already established holy cones operation on flying cloud drive in cole harbour that is a project of the st. vincent de paul church.
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employ youth
“that was our goal,” white said of making money to support st. bernard’s, which is part of the amalgamated st. andre bessette parish and the catholic archdiocese of halifax-yarmouth.
“and to employ youth in the community.”
sarah white, co-chair of the st. bernard’s church ways and means committee in enfield, stands in front of the heavenly scoops ice cream shop next to the church on sunday.
francis campbell
rushton is one of four permanent summer employees, university, college or high school students logging 30 to 35 hours per week along with tips, and there is one casual employee who fills in whenever needed.
“it’s a great summer job,” says rushton.
rushton and a fellow student supervisor keep track of the supplies and pass along the flavours that need to be replenished to white, who places the weekly orders for chapman’s and scotsburn/farmers ice cream.
“this has been our busiest season,” white said. “someone once said in a business, you wait for your fifth year and our fifth year has been it.
brayden wood, logan wood, terry macneil and charlene macneil take advantage of the good weather and tasty treats at heavenly scoops ice cream shop in enfield on saturday, aug. 2, 2025.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
“the weather has co-operated.”
white said st. bernard’s park, featuring dozens of species of flowers, 25 kinds of trees, various grasses, a japanese garden, a 400-square-foot gazebo and a picnic area, is a beautiful spot to sit and eat ice cream.
great community project
all proceeds go to the church, she said.
“when we opened, our goal was that 25 per cent would go back into the community but we haven’t had a profit yet; we’re hoping this will be the year.”
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there were losses in previous years, which is fine, white said, because the ice cream store is such a great community project.
rev. gerald david stands in front of the heavenly scoops ice cream shop on the edge of the parking lot of st. bernard’s church in enfield after mass on sunday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
“we’ve had no great overhead but we’ve had to buy big freezers and a lot of things. in the end, we’ll turn a profit.”
the power and water come from the nearby church, and the nearby parish priest makes his way across to heavenly cones with some regularity to get a treat for himself and his dog.
“when i got here, i thought it was a pretty exciting idea that the parish had something like this going and also that it was employing a few of the kids,” said rev. gerald david, appointed to the amalgamated parish in 2022.
temptation is a pervasive theme in the catholic church and the bible, and david admitted good-naturedly that there is temptation in living so close to the tantalizing treats but “i’ve restricted it to once a week, including the pup cups.”
david said he sees people coming to get an ice cream and then take it into the park to have a seat and a chat.
“that tends to be very nice and it’s the purpose for what we exist for. to see people lolling around, the only inconvenience is that i have to put my dog on a leash but that it is little inconvenience when you look at the convenience for the people and the enjoyment that they’re having.
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“that’s all good.”
all good is a sentiment espoused by brothers logan and brayden wood of enfield as they shared an ice cream break with family friends terry and charlene macneil on saturday evening.
“dinosaur bones is my favourite,” brayden said, breaking slightly from the anecdotal evidence that points to mariner’s sea salt caramel as the runaway favourite.
“first time,” charlene macneil said of their visit from beaver bank to heavenly scoops.
“awesome, it’s a great idea, close to the park so you can sit and enjoy your ice cream. i was thinking when we were coming here, because we’re just outside of lower sackville, that in this area ice cream is a lot easier to get than it is in the sackville area.
“it’s a great location and a generous-sized serving.”
editor’s note: we love where we live, and throughout the summer, we are running a series of stories that highlight what makes our community unique and special within canada. follow along with how canada wins right here.
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