Celebrating 10 years of Jackson’s Ice Cream Float
Jackson’s Ice Cream Float:
a decade of sweet success at
Fisherman’s Wharf
Jackson Avio began selling delicious, locallymade ice cream direct from the docks in the
summer of 2006
On an unusually warm winter day in March, I
caught up with Jackson Avio, owner and operator of
the popular Jackson’s Ice Cream Float at Fisherman’s
Wharf. While I enjoyed a cone of delicious old-fashioned maple walnut ice cream, Jackson shared with
me anecdotes from his life and the first nine summers
of selling ice cream directly from his successful float
home-based business.
Jackson grew up in Victoria and Maple Bay.
In 1990, he left the island for adventures abroad —
including six years as a remote area manager for an
eco-tourism company in Papua New Guinea. “They’d fly
me in to these airstrips in the jungles, the only way to
access the remote jungle lodges,” he recalled. “I’d take
the tourists down the river to see the villages, and the
locals there. I took a lot of people on art buying trips
into the Sepik river area because there were a lot of terrific carvers there. It was a crazy adventure.”
In 2004, while visiting family over Christmas
during what was expected to be a temporary trip to
Victoria, the pull of home proved irresistible. “It was
one of those beautiful Victoria winters and I saw all
those people on Dallas
Road in the middle of
“I couldn’t believe
February, wearing shorts
how many tourists
and I couldn’t believe
were passing right in
it. So I decided it was
front of my home. I
time to come home;
thought if I could just who would want to live
sell something from
anywhere else?”
here, like ice cream,
Soon afterwards, he deI could make a living
cided to put his name on
doing something fun.” the waitlist for a berth at
— Jackson Avio
Fisherman’s Wharf. Early
in 2005, he received a
call that one was available. “I got this spot, but the thing was, then I had to go
build a float home, so I went up island and started with
the steel hull and kept adding. It took me about eight
months to build and then I had it towed down here.”
In fact, Jackson had been given the very last—
and least popular—spot on the pier. “I was actually
number 23 on the waitlist, so all 22 people were called
first and given the opportunity to take the spot, and
nobody wanted it, and one of the reasons was because
it was right by Barb’s Fish and Chips and the harbour
ferries, so people didn’t want all these tourists beside
them with the noise and the activity. I was just happy
to be here!” What others saw as a disadvantage, Jackson soon realized could be harnessed for a successful
business opportunity. “That first summer, I was down
here and I couldn’t believe how many tourists were
passing right in front of my home. I thought if I could
just sell something from here, like ice cream, I could
make a living doing something fun.”
It took many months to turn his dream into a
reality. With all the required paperwork signed and the
support of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, Jackson spent three months renovating his deck to transform it into a floating ice cream shop. With everything
ready, opening day was June 16, 2006.
He recalled that the first day was: “pretty quiet.
The docks weren’t nearly as busy then, but I sold a few
cones the first day and I wasn’t discouraged. The locals
who lived here were my first customers and really supported the business but it didn’t take long for word
to spread in the community that you could get ice
cream down here. People soon started to come for the
famous fish and chips at Barb’s and then get dessert
here. They still do.”
He started with 12 flavours and only scooped
ice cream, but over the years the range has expanded
to 16 flavours, milkshakes, non-dairy, gluten-free,
frozen yogurt, gelato and soft-serve options. Since the
beginning, Jackson has only served high quality, local
products supplied by Island Farms.
Greater Victoria Harbour Authority: Profiles, April 2015
Celebrating 10 summers of Jackson’s Ice Cream Float at Fisherman’s Wharf
The addition of soft serve
proved a smart
move. “After a
couple of years,
a guy I knew
said, hey I’ve got
this soft serve
ice cream machine in my garage, do you want it? I said:
sure, and as soon as I started with it, I couldn’t believe
it—soft serve just took off.” In fact, Jackson’s is one of
the few places on the island where you can buy chocolate soft serve. “We have people driving down from
Langford just for the chocolate soft serve, it makes us
unique.” Other popular options include “Canadiana”
flavours like Moose Tracks and Bear Claw, which are
popular with tourists. The best-selling flavour by far is
Sea Salt Caramel. “It’s one of our newest flavours, introduced three summers ago, and it outsells everything
three to one. I don’t know what it is, maybe because we
are on the ocean.”
Four years ago, Jackson added an ice cream
truck and this summer he is purchasing a second truck.
He also serves ice cream from a specially adapted
tricycle. “We use it for parties and events. Last summer when they were filming the Gracepoint television
series—I was there. David Tennant hired me to bring
ice cream for everyone at their Sidney location on the
last day of filming. We made sundaes for the whole
crew. It was nice to meet him and that went really well.”
As business has grown, other famous people
have dropped by for ice cream at Jackson’s including
David Suzuki and Ziggy Marley and Jackson’s Ice Cream
Float has become a beloved, local institution. “I’m doing four times as much business as my first year now.
It really took off about four years ago with the rise of
the cruise industry. The Harbour Authority put up signs
and maps saying that tourists could walk downtown,
and of course when you’re walking by Fisherman’s
Wharf, who wouldn’t stop to take a look at the amazing
float homes and want to explore this beautiful spot.
So many people do, and they usually buy an ice cream
cone.”
Jackson hires local students who often return
year after year for a great summer job. “I’ve been really
fortunate with staff. A lot of them started when they
were 15 and they’ve worked with me for over five
years, so I have several people who’ve been here for
many summers and that’s really lucky in this kind of
business. We have a lot of fun too. Every year we hire a
boat to take us to Discovery Island off Oak Bay for our
staff party, and that’s a good time.”
Canada Day, B.C. Day and World Oceans Day at
Fisherman’s Wharf are extremely busy times, but just
about any day with a hint of sunshine and a light ocean
breeze draws in the crowds. “Fisherman’s Wharf is a
globally recognized name. It doesn’t matter if you are
in San Francisco, Prince Edward Island, or right here in
Victoria, people know that they can expect really good
fresh seafood, a great family atmosphere, and lots of
activity. Here we have float homes, which is about as
west coast and cool as you can get. All the businesses
down here pool our resources to promote Fisherman’s
Wharf as an amazing destination and the Harbour
Authority’s been a great partner in that. It’s got to the
point now, you can say that anyone who comes to visit
Victoria for a few days is going to find their way to Fisherman’s Wharf.”
The docks have undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade as infrastructure
improvements and new businesses have added to the
vibrant neighbourhood created by the community of
residents. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard
locals say they haven’t been here for many years and
they say: wow—look how much has changed. You can
spend a whole afternoon here, you don’t have to spend
money, Fisherman’s
Wharf is free, there’s
a wonderful park the
City put in you can
take the family to
and then watch the
seals off the pier. You
can get something
to eat if you want—
fish and chips, sushi,
tacos, burgers—
we’ve got it all, and
then of course you
can wander around
the float homes. It’s just a wonderful way to spend
half a day with the family. Kids especially love it here
and they’re always smiling when they get an ice cream
cone.” — by Ivan Watson
On June 16th, 2015, Jackson’s Ice Cream Float will celebrate its tenth summer of selling ice cream off the pier at
#1 Dallas Road, Fisherman’s Wharf. Come on down for a
friendly chat and some delicious old-fashioned, locallymade ice cream. Open 11:30am until dusk all summer
long. Visit Jackson’s Ice Cream Float on Facebook.
Greater Victoria Harbour Authority: Profiles, April 2015