OUR STORY
How It Went Down
Lost & Found started small. What began as a dessert course idea slowly turned into experimenting, farmers’ markets, and eventually a shop of our own.
Here’s how it unfolded.
A Dessert Course
Jon was working in a restaurant where the menu was always evolving, and one evening he added a molasses ice cream for dessert. It quickly became a favourite, with guests asking if they could take pints home.
That interest led to a bit more experimenting, a few small batches here and there, and a lot of learning along the way. Before long, he was selling pints out the back door to people in the neighbourhood. What began as a simple addition to a menu slowly grew into something more.
The Beginning of Something
Before long, Jon decided to invest in his first “real” ice cream machine; one that could turn out about six pints every fifteen minutes. It wasn’t huge, but it was a step up.
On his days off, he’d head back into the restaurant and spend hours making small batches, trying things out, seeing what worked. His partner would take those pints and quietly sell them off to a group of nurses they knew nearby. It became a bit of a routine.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, it stopped feeling like just a side project and started to feel like something worth taking seriously.
Farmer’s Markets & a Pandemic
While Jon still worked full-time as a chef, Lost & Found Ice Cream popping up at farmers’ markets around Moncton. It was a way to get the ice cream out there, meet people, and see what worked without the major commitment.
When the pandemic hit and life as we knew it came to a halt, restaurants and markets closed. He had to get creative in order to keep the momentum going. So, he turned to social media, started posting the weekly flavours and offered local delivery once a week.
It was an instant hit. Before long, he was delivering close to 300 pints weekly and the numbers were climbing.
Taking a Chance
As things started to open back up, Jon realized that going back to life in restaurants wasn’t really what he wanted anymore. So when the chance came up to open a small shop in downtown Moncton, he went for it.
It started simply, with eight hard ice cream flavours and a pretty small setup. Since then, it’s grown into something much bigger, with more than 20 flavours in rotation, along with a soft serve that’s made in-house and a bit different from what people are used to.
NOW: Basecamp Opens
Today, Lost & Found has grown into three locations. There’s what they call “base camp,” the production space where new flavours and ideas get worked out, tested, and refined. Then there’s the flagship shop in downtown Moncton, and our outpost located in Shediac.
Jon, Our Founder
Jon started his culinary journey in New Brunswick in September of 2011 at NBCC. After graduating he worked at a few local spots before climbing the ranks as sous chef at Tide and Boar gastropub, which was featured in McLean’s top 50 restaurants in 2012. Afterwards Jon went on to work at Little Louis (4 diamond), Raymond’s (Voted Canada’s best restaurant by vacay in 2014), Mission Hill terrace, Le Mousso, Origines Caraquet (Nominated for best new restaurant in Canada) and Clos. He has since settled in as the owner and founder of Lost & Found Ice Cream located in Moncton, NB.
Where To Find Us
Want to know where you can get the good good? Click below to find a list of our shops and retail partners.