Cream Shop

For generations, a captivating story has weaved its way through the City of Brantford, Ontario, surrounding the iconic Dairee Delite ice cream shop we all frequent. Rumors persist that the establishment changed hands not once, but twice, in high-stakes poker games. While the truth remains elusive, the legend has firmly entrenched itself in the area's history.

A plaque adorning the wall of Dairee Delite bears the inscription, "It was won and lost in two high stakes poker games." However, unraveling the story proves to be no easy task, with various versions circulating like whispers in a game of small-town telephone

Sometime in the 1970s, the original owner of Dairee Delite lost the shop to another prominent Brantford businessman, who in turn lost it to the manager of the town's Home Hardware store Two owners later, the Dishers acquired the shop.

The origins of Dairee Delite date back to 1953 when entrepreneur George Koster established Koster's Cream-EEE-Freeze, later renamed Dairee Delite. The original location stood at Brant Avenue and Bedford Street before moving to its current site at King George Road and St. Paul Avenue. Koster's second wife, Elizabeth (Lizanna) Koster, recalls their time together during the 1950s when George opened the ice cream stand. She fondly remembers his entrepreneurial spirit, which extended to other ventures like Koster's Drive In Car Hop Service a pioneering drive-in establishment in Brantford that featured a mini-golf course and the Kos-Bar, a vibrant dance hall

According to Lizanna, George enjoyed playing poker casually with friends but never engaged in high-stakes games or risked the Cream-EEE-Freeze in a wager. She asserts that George sold the shop fairly and trained the new owner in the art of making his signature "frozen custard " Lizanna even recalls George's reaction when the Brantford Expositor published an article about the poker game, stating, "Not true," in his own handwriting.

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