Peterborough Gets Less Sweet As Two Dessert Spots Announce Closure

/

Dessert options in Peterborough are declining, as BeaverTails and The Vanilla Room have announced on their social media accounts that they are closing their businesses.

Adam (left) and Michelle Levesque (right) showcasing a strawberry cheesecake BeaverTail and strawberry lemonade. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The Vanilla Room had announced its closure on its social media platforms last Tuesday, citing rising costs and the current economic state.

“The reality is simply the state of the world right now. Rising costs, an uncertain economy, and the fact that many people just don’t have the extra room to spend on treats the way they once did. And we completely understand that,” said Kayla Da Luz, The Vanilla Room owner.

Located at 386 Water St., The Vanilla Room opened in early fall of 2024. The bakery and café served sandwiches and wraps, croffles, snacks and a variety of drinks.

An exact date for their closure has not been announced but the business said they will update the community as soon as they can.

Following suit with The Vanilla Room is BeaverTails who announced its closure on social media on Jan. 24.

“This was not an easy decision as we have some amazing customers we consider friends but we are lacking the consistency required for survival,” said Adam and Michelle Levesque of BeaverTails.

The couple opened their food truck in mid-September of 2023 just outside of Peterborough in Selwyn.

BeaverTails announced it will close no later than Feb. 15 or when it has sold out of product. Adam and Michelle are rebranding themselves as the food truck, Chemong Chuck Wagon. It will remain in the same location as their BeaverTails business at 1665 Chemong Rd. beside Home Hardware.

BeaverTails are deep-fried dough that can be topped with spreads, sauces, chocolate bar bits, fruit/fruit sauces and more.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Trent-Severn Waterway Listed In New York Times's '52 Places to Go in 2025'

/

Peterborough and the Kawarthas have garnered attention from the New York Times as the Trent-Severn Waterway was listed as one of their ‘52 Places to Go in 2025.’

Photo courtesy of Justen Soule and the Canadian Canoe Museum.

The article highlights the 240-mile Trent-Severn Waterway, where its rivers, lakes and canals go from one end of Ontario to the other, connecting Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay.

A few organizations and companies have been featured in the article.

Author AnneLise Sorensen gives her main highlight to the Canadian Canoe Museum with its new 65,000-square-foot lakefront. The museum is known to have the most extensive collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft worldwide.

“The museum exhibits styles from across Canada — showcasing them in a curved building inspired by, yes, the canoe — and honours the vessel’s Indigenous legacy,” said Sorensen. “The waterway is also undergoing a multiyear revitalization project, which includes retrofitting its monumental hydraulic lift locks, among the highest in the world.”

Boat rental company Le Boat, 100 Acre Brewing Co. and BeaverTails also had honourable mentions in the article.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Husband and Wife Make Selwyn Its Home For Their BeaverTails Food Trailer

/

Canadian pastry and franchise BeaverTails has made its home in Selwyn thanks to wife and husband Michelle and Adam Levesque who opened their food trailer beside Home Hardware located at 1665 Chemong Rd. on Thursday.

Adam (left) and Michelle Levesque (right) showcasing a strawberry cheesecake BeaverTail and strawberry lemonade. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

BeaverTails are deep-fried dough that can be topped with spreads, sauces, chocolate bar bits, fruit/fruit sauces and more. Some places also add ice cream in combination with the aforementioned items.

The Levesque’s trailer has 11 varieties of BeaverTails to choose from, ranging from the classic of cinnamon and sugar, all the way to their Avalanche (Skor cheesecake). They have four flavours of Beaver Bites where the dough is fried into bite-size balls, comparable to Tim Horton’s Timbits. Other products sold include brownie pies, Beaver Bites sundaes, ice cream, poutine, hot dogs, fries and more.

The idea stemmed from Adam working in the Durham region with his other business A & M Tools Inc. and discovered a BeaverTails food truck. That inspired him to open one himself and propose the idea to Michelle despite them having no prior food-handling experience.

“We wanted something more family-oriented,” she explained. “He runs the tools and I do the back end but nothing that my kids can grow up, join in and be staff in our facility. He came home one day and said, ‘Let's do it, let's make a BeaverTails.’”

The couple started their journey in February, learning how to make the product and being a franchisee. Opening the business was not easy for the couple when they started their road to becoming franchisees. The trailer they purchased originally was not up to provincial standards for becoming a food truck and the couple went to great lengths to get it up to code according to Michelle.

“We had to change a couple of things,” she explained. “A couple of fryers, different health codes and stuff like that to make sure that we were in compliance with Ontario standards.”

The trailer had to go through several inspections however due to staffing shortages, they could not be done in a timely manner delayed their opening according to a Facebook post made in July.

The trailer finally opened for business on Thursday and both Adam and Michelle had a hectic, busy but productive first day.

“It kept steady and we appreciate everyone's patience with us having been our first day,” said Michelle.

The couple is planning activities for the winter and summer for customers to be immersed in the community and want to be open all year round.

“We want to build an ice rink so that it's winter-friendly. Everyone can come out, have a skate, get your BeaverTail like a mini Ottawa experience here,” said Michelle. “In the summer, we want to have outdoor games. We just want everyone to be a bit patient because we are still building.”

The following are the trailer’s operating hours:

  • Thursdays: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

  • Friday/Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

  • Sunday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.