Editorial: Cream of the crop for 90 years

Rush Munro's, in Hastings, celebrating 90 years in the business.

There really isn't anything like a delicious ice cream on a hot Hawke's Bay day.

And just like thousands of other locals, the first place I always think about when it comes to ice cream is Rush Munro's.

It's one place I really don't mind waiting in line because I know the end result will be worth it.

In case you have missed it, Rush Munro's is in the throes of celebrating 90 years in business. That's quite some feat.

My mother also celebrated her 90th birthday this year and when I rang her yesterday to ask her about her memories of the ice cream parlour she said "that's funny, I've just had my hair done and on the way home I went to the supermarket and I'm sitting here now eating a tub of Rum 'n' Raisin Rush Munro's ice cream".

She couldn't recall going as a child ('I can't remember that far back') but said whenever her friend visited from Wellington we had to go and have an ice cream.

The thing that makes this place so special is people can expect the unexpected. There are always the favourite flavours like chocolate, hokey pokey and malted milk (Mum's favourite) and seasonal flavours but then there are some left field ones. Earlier this year they won a silver medal for their brown bread-flavoured ice cream.

An Aucklander challenged me to try it and report back - I haven't managed to do that yet. Every time I visit I can't resist the chocolate mint, or the strawberry or the hokey pokey . . . I could go on.

So congratulations Rush Munro's - here's hoping they stick around for another 90 years.