Carberry eatery makes summer last all year

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This article was published 22/08/2024 (591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CARBERRY — You know how some businesses have a really good thing going, but their public outreach and social media savvy is next to nil? Their food is solid, and they’ve got friendly service in a good location, but for some reason they just don’t advertise themselves well?

Or sometimes it’s the opposite — lots of talk about a great place your friend discovered, but then you’re woefully underwhelmed when you finally get there?

Well the Summer Shack in Carberry has managed to find a way to do both well, with some tasty ice cream and local diner-style favourites off the griddle, combined with a superior presence on Facebook that shows owner Patti Hart is not afraid to mix things up and experiment.

The Summer Shack’s Facebook page is full of eye-catching food porn photos and some effective messaging for customers looking for a good reason to step out for lunch. From hot and gooey pizzas and their enticing mushroom-Swiss burger, to sundaes, cones and melty banana splits, the pictures alone are enough to convince you to get the car keys.

It’s a sunny noon hour on a Tuesday when I drive up to the Summer Shack’s Third Avenue East location, and the place is hopping. The drive-in is surrounded by cars and it seems that the Summer Shack is the place to be when you come to Carberry.

In the middle of a lunch rush, the busy server still finds time to greet new customers like myself walking in to the inside service window. Turns out, it’s the owner herself.

“My goal is to make everybody feel like they’re at home and they’re welcome to come anytime.” Hart said over the phone the next day, the noon rush well past. “I treat everybody like they’re part of the family.”

Patti makes a point of conversation with customers, whether she knows them or not. As I wait for my order — a spicy buffalo chicken burger for $9.49 and a coffee — Hart has been chatting up customers at all the tables in the east-side dining room, asking what they like and suggesting menu items. Sometimes she’s just trying to get to know them a little better. And she says her customers come from all over.

“A lot of times, because I’m nosey, I’m not scared to ask somebody, ‘Where are you from?’ I had a young lady and her three children in today, and she says, ‘I live in Nova Scotia, but I’m originally from Calgary, and I grew up here. I’ve got family here, so I can’t not stop when I come through.

“I find that people come for different reasons all the time.”

As I sip my coffee in a classic diner-style white mug, my order arrives, nice and hot. It’s a crunchy chicken filet burger with a healthy dollop of hot sauce, a tomato, lettuce and mayo on a warm bun. Simple, straight forward, and tasty.

But it’s the ice cream I’m looking forward to, and so I ask for whatever cold treat tends to be the most ordered — the local favourite. To my surprise, it’s a Skor bar twister — thick soft-serve vanilla ice cream mixed with crumbled Skor bar bits.

It comes in a paper cup with a long ice-cream spoon and a little hill of chocolate bar bits on top — I’ve ordered the small 12-ounce one for $5.99 — certainly as good a summer treat as any. But when asked why she thinks this particular item is the most asked-for on the menu, Hart shrugs her shoulders and just laughs.

“I’m a sundae gal,” she exclaims. “If I’m going to have something, I want a sundae. I’ll have a sundae with hot fudge and peanut butter. That’s my ultimate favourite. Hot fudge and peanut butter, or hot fudge and raspberries. Hard to pick a favourite though, because there’s so many options.”

Lots of kids also come in asking for a cone of hard ice cream, she says. With 11 flavours, there’s a lot of possible combinations.

They’ve also recently added a new item to the menu, one that seems to be popping up at a lot of drive-ins across Westman this summer — waffle nachos. Think waffle cone chips, served with six ounces of ice cream, and two piles of whipped cream with your choice of sauce and a topping. Check back on their Facebook page to see it for yourself.

“Some places were out with it last year, and I hummed and hawed, and it’s still a go. Everybody wanted it. Everybody wanted it on there. So I’m like, ‘Okay, so we’ll do it.’”

While the Summer Shack has been a Carberry staple for more than five decades, Hart just celebrated her two-year anniversary as owner last June. One of the biggest innovations she made is changing the whole premise of the business model — from being a seasonal restaurant to a full-time year-round dining operation. And while it still bears the name Summer Shack, it’s an all-season restaurant.

“We’re really, really quite new to the whole chaos of owning a restaurant,” she said. “When I took over though, I was like – if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it. And so we’ve been open the last two winters.”

While she may still be a novice in the restaurant world — or at least considers herself one — she says there’s nothing like coming in to a job you love to do, day in and day out.

“Yeah, I love it. I love to come in every day, and I am very blessed when it comes to my staff. I have the best staff ever.”

» mgoerzen@brandonsun.com

» X: @MattGoerzen