Chaeban Ice Cream opened its doors on Dec. 21, 2017 — the first day of winter. Seven years later, after weathering the COVID-19 pandemic and launching Chaeban Artisan cheese, the family-owned company remains beloved by Winnipeggers and continues to thrive.

The company’s origins trace back to 2015, when Joseph Chaeban, a second-generation dairy scientist, and his wife, Zainab Ali, moved to Winnipeg’s South Osborne neighbourhood from Ontario. At that time, Ali’s family was scattered across Lebanon and Turkey due to the Syrian humanitarian crisis.

“I didn’t know anyone here in Winnipeg, and just by chance, I found the South Osborne community refugee initiative,” Chaeban said. “They wanted to help Syrian refugees, and I asked them if they could help my wife’s family come to Canada, and they agreed.”

The group raised enough money to bring 13 people to Winnipeg, and the experience made Chaeban fall in love with the city. Despite receiving better job offers in other provinces, he chose to stay and suggested to Ali that they start a business in South Osborne as a way of giving back to the community.

Initially, the couple planned to open a Lebanese restaurant. However, their plans shifted when Chaeban learned from his friend and eventual business partner, Darryl Stewart, about a location for sale on Osborne Street. The property was the former home of Banana Boat Ice Cream, which sparked an idea.

“I said, ‘you know, it would be really cool if we get raw milk from the farm, pasteurize everything on-site, have a whole new take on ice cream, being super premium, locally sourced, all natural.’ And that’s how it got born,” Chaeban recalled.

Community remains a core value of the company. All of the raw milk is sourced from a family farm in Stonewall, while other ingredients are locally sourced whenever possible. In March 2023, the company expanded its focus on community with the launch of the “community champion” initiative. Under the program, seasonal flavours are named after local community heroes, with a portion of proceeds donated to a charity of their choice.

In 2022, Chaeban Ice Cream gained national recognition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, where four of their flavours placed in the competition. Two flavours — Rocky Ricardo, their take on rocky road, and Salty Carl, a salted caramel flavour made with homemade caramel sauce — won first place in their respective categories. Salty Carl went on to win the overall Grand Champion title.

When entering, Chaeban did not expect to win, he only hoped that they would at least place in the top 10.

“Having all the flavours place in the top 10, and two of them were first prize, was astonishing. I was really shocked,” Chaeban said. “That was really cool, and it got us a lot of exposure behind that […] It helped our business and our ice cream site really grow.”

The journey has not been without challenges. The winter months brought a decline in ice cream sales. The COVID-19 pandemic threw a further wrench in their plans, and Chaeban feared that they would go bankrupt.

He decided to return to his family roots in cheesemaking, having learned it from his father, Daham, he launched Chaeban Artisan Cheese. Some of their cheeses include two varieties of feta, halloumi, ricotta and cream cheese.

Following their 2022 success at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Chaeban entered their cheeses into the 2024 fair. Four of their cheeses placed, with their firm feta and soft creamy feta taking 3rd and 4th place respectively, in the feta category.

“That was nice for a first time entry,” Chaeban reflected. “I had a lot of great feedback, and placing in the top three out of so many entries was pretty cool.”

After seven years of building the company from the ground up, Chaeban remains grateful to the Winnipeg community and their loyal customers for their continued support.

“We’re really grateful for Winnipeg and Manitoba to get behind our company […] I love Winnipeg, I love Manitoba. I love Canada,” he said.

For more information on Chaeban, visit chaebanicecream.com (ice cream) and chaebanartisan.com (cheese).