General News

BeaverTails mobile truck makes stop in Bancroft

July 15, 2020

By MIKE RILEY
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

BeaverTails have become an iconic Canadian treat since they first debuted back in 1978 at the Killaloe Craft and Community Fair. A couple of years later, founders Grant and Pam Hooker began selling their family recipe at Ottawa’s Byward Market and a phenomenon was born. The BeaverTails Pembrooke and Peterborough area mobile truck stopped over in Bancroft on July 3, 4, and 5 and was greeted by many enthusiastic locals.
Nick Jackson runs the mobile truck operation and says their first night was terrific.
“Everyone seems excited we are in town. With no events really this year, we are going to different towns within our territory to feed our fans. Each city we travel to, we purchase the local permit, advertise locally on Facebook and always donate a percent of our sales to the local food bank. So far, we have had a great start to the summer and thank our fans for supporting us,” he says.
Jackson says they’re hoping to make another stop in town later on this summer, although nothing is set in stone yet. As for the donation to the local food bank, Jackson says he mailed a cheque to the North Hastings Community Cupboard in the amount of $421.
“It’s always great to give back. There’s no sense in us just coming here and taking,” he says.
The BeaverTail is a fried dough pastry stretched to resemble, you guessed it, a beaver tail. It is then coated with sugar, cinnamon, Nutella and countless other variations depending on the region you buy them in. For instance, in Vancouver and Whistler, you can get them with salmon, cream cheese and capers, Montreal has BeaverTails with steak and ham and cheese, while in Halifax, there is an offering with lobster.
Over the past 42 years, enough BeaverTails have been sold that if they were put end to end, they’d stretch from Prince Edward Island to British Columbia. From that first store in Ottawa in 1980, there are now over 140 franchises around the world. It’s even been a question in Canadian Trivial Pursuit and on the popular game show Jeopardy.
Craig and Deann Deacon were on hand to get a couple of BeaverTails on the afternoon of July 4. They recently moved to Bancroft. Craig works at Home Hardware in Apsley, while Deann works at the LCBO here in town.
“This should be here all summer. I’ve had them right from Ottawa [at the Byward Market]. They’re delicious!” she says.