The Story of Grammy's Cupboard

Our past

Delicious old fashioned ice cream made the way it should be! Using fresh 100% Canadian Cream is what we're all about! 2018 marked the 70th Anniversary of Shaw's Ice Cream. There is a lot of history behind our brand. Here is our story…

Shaw’s Ice Cream was founded in 1948 by Carl Shaw in St. Thomas, Ontario. Fast forward to the early 2000s, Shaw’s had fallen on hard times and was slated to close when McLaughlin Sisters Kim, Kelly, and Kristine saw an opportunity and purchased the struggling business in 2001.

Having operated their own scoop shop, Dad’s Ice Cream, in their hometown of Tillsonburg, Ontario, the sisters had some business experience. As the new owners of Shaw’s, the sisters doubled down on the Shaw family’s original vision of creating a high-quality product inspired by its small-town roots and community.

They had to hustle and improvise to make the business thrive. In the early years, each sister focused on a different area of the business; Kristine headed up production and accounting, Kelly oversaw sales and the dairy bar operation, and Kim obtained her truck driver’s license to deliver their products herself.

Over time, the trio began to distribute their products to scoop shops and grocery stores throughout Southwestern Ontario. They further expanded by offering co-manufacturing services for other ice cream brands. Today, Shaw’s can be found in grocery stores across Canada!

Shaw’s eventually outgrew the production facility in St. Thomas and in 2019 the sisters opened a state-of-the-art production facility in the small, rural town of Tillsonburg to continue building the Shaw’s brand in addition to producing a variety of frozen indulgences for private label customers.

Above all, Shaw’s has maintained a legacy of creating the highest quality ice cream using 100% Canadian Dairy. Their family recipe brings you the classic taste that you remember from years past full of tradition and simply the great taste you deserve.