Feed your inner ice cream demon starting tomorrow at Lickity Splitz

LocoLanding has almost cornered the ice cream market along the Okanagan Lake strip.

To the east, there's The Peach and its wildly popular "Crazy Shakes." And to the west, starting tomorrow, there's Lickity Splitz - the "Chillest Ice Cream Shop on Lakeshore Drive." And yes, they're both owned and operated by the folks at LocoLanding.

"We thought it would be truly amazing to go into competition with ourselves," laughs LocoLanding owner Diana Stirling when quizzed as to why they went all in on beach-side ice cream.

We had a chance to peek inside this afternoon, and found Lickity Splitz' distinctly surf-styled, beach hut motif to be, like totally gnarly, dude.

"The previous store had been there over 17 years. Run by a phenomenal family. But we fully renovated it and turned it into a really fun surfing-themed ice cream shop."

And, says Stirling, "The space we're using is just half of the total space. We'll be opening another concept business there in 2020 as well."

When asked to elaborate, Stirling had just two words: "Top secret."

Certainly Lickity Splitz won't be shy when it comes to options. Stirling tells us they'll serve a total of 48 hard ice cream flavours, along with tasty treats like milkshakes and "Screamers" (soft ice cream layered with slush).

"We'll employ 20 to 25 people," she says. "And they're all teenagers. The fact that they're all teenagers is really important to us. And the fact that this is within the Locolanding family and The Peach family, in all it'll be 120 staff."

"At the end of the day, we're in the business of fun. Everything that we do is focused on bringing fun and happiness to people in Penticton and families visiting Penticton. And ice cream just has this beautifully nostalgic feeling with it."

But the Lickity Splitz unveiling does bring with it a rivalry of sorts. Down the road is The Peach, with its carefully cultivated social media presence. And now comes the new shop's equally loquacious mascot, a Penguin named Lickity.

"Lickity is a surfing penguin who travels all over the world and has landed in Penticton and chosen this to be his home. And he wanted to cool off, so he opened an ice cream shop. It just doesn't get any better than that."

"And," says Stirling, "he's definitely sparring with The Peach on social media. It's really neat to see that relationship as well."

Lickity Splitz officially opens its doors Saturday morning at 11 a.m. It'll close at 7, then open again Sunday from 12 to 5. Going forward, says Stirling, they'll be open weekends through to June, then they'll go daily until the September long weekend.

You'll find Lickity Splitz at 1028 Lakeshore Drive, adjacent to Salty's Beach House. Check the website for more info.