We’ve been trying to get to this for 18 months!!

Now that we’ve (sort of) got a handle on our day to day activities…we can finally start what we have been trying to get to for so long!

Since we launched we’ve had the opportunity to meet SO many awesome local start-ups. Vancouver has a lot of them, whether in food, tech, retail, etc etc. And now we want you to meet them, too!

Local Favourite: Nice Vice Creamery in Yaletown

1022 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.nicevicecream.com

We first met Chris, owner of Nice Vice Creamery, at Be Fresh Market during one of their community get-togethers. His ice cream has zero dairy and is delicious! We’re totally hooked and love that it’s vegan and guilt-free.

Meet Nice Vice!

Tell us a little about Nice Vice. What is it?

[NV] Nice Vice is Canada’s first 0% dairy-free creamery. We are vegan friendly, soy free, nut free and guilt free scoop shop, that serves twelve to fifteen flavours a day. We also offer Vice Cream Sundaes, Root Beer and Kombucha floats, and soon we will be serving vegan soft serve.

Who’s behind Nice Vice?

[NV] Chris White grew up in the ice cream world. His dad cruised around London in the sixties in his very own ice cream truck, sharing all the stories of his adventures with Chris. Ice cream is something close to Chris’ heart, which was part of the inspiration for Nice Vice. Chris wanted to create a product that was still tasty and reminiscent of his childhood. After being in recovery and clean for seven years, Chris sought to replace his bad vices with new and nice ones. Inspired by vice cream pioneer Jeff Rogers (The Naughty Vegan), Chris began making his own vice cream (from scratch) out of his kitchen for himself and his three boys. He also attended the Ice Cream University in NYC with the Godfather of Ice Cream, Malcolm Stogo, and did a “workation” in Austin, Texas with Sweet Ritual, another vice cream parlour. Chris is passionate about producing a healthy, sustainable, and guilt-free indulgence for his local community of Vancouver. There are no limits to his vision for Nice Vice – he’s eager to open several dairy-free scoop shops, a fleet of vice cream vans, and even expand into different food groups!

When and how was Nice Vice born?

[NV] Vice Cream was born after Chris discovered he was lactose intolerant, while he was in treatment recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. With no girlfriend, alcohol and cocaine, he consumed lots of ice cream and kept feeling sick. This led him to begin exploring the world of dairy-free living and began the journey to opening up a permanent storefront in Yaletown.

What makes Nice Vice Cream different than other ice creams?

[NV] Vice Cream is made from sweet potato milk, coconut milk, and brown rice which forms the base. What makes us different besides our unique blend is that we add sweeteners at the end of the process rather than at the beginning. This allows us to use fruits and flavours to their full intensities.

What makes Nice Vice Cream different than other ice creams?

[NV] Vice Cream is made from sweet potato milk, coconut milk, and brown rice which forms the base. What makes us different besides our unique blend is that we add sweeteners at the end of the process rather than at the beginning. This allows us to use fruits and flavours to their full intensities.

What is your favourite flavour?

[NV] It depends on what we are making, as it is easy to fall in love with a new flavour combination that you are creating. Sometimes batches don’t workout the way you thought they would. Which is especially fulfilling when you finally get a batch that meets our expectations.