Montreal · ice cream
Havre-aux-Glaces
Havre-aux-Glaces is a rare case of a maker on the record explaining why he refuses novelty flavours as a matter of principle, backed by two decades of continuous operation from the same market stall and a self-produced ingredient (maple syrup from the shop's own grove) that most competitors buy in.
What to order
Papua New Guinea vanilla ice cream or soursop sorbet, named by co-founder Richard Lachapelle as the shop's distinctive, less-common offerings
What we know
- Founded 2004 at the Jean-Talon Market by brothers Robert Lachapelle, a tax professional, and Richard Lachapelle, who was self-taught: 'I'd never made ice cream, but I had some basic skills' (Marchés publics de Montréal, interview)
- Has operated its own maple grove since 2009 and produces its own maple products (Marchés publics de Montréal, merchant profile)
- Makes its own vanilla extract from Papua New Guinea vanilla and roasts its own pistachios in-house; deliberately resists elaborate flavour trends: 'I want to taste the strawberry, the raspberry, the passion fruit in my sorbets. I have a hard time with blending' (Richard Lachapelle, Marchés publics de Montréal)
- Grew from one shop to four Montreal locations (Jean-Talon Market, Atwater Market, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, rue Fleury Est) over two decades; Robert Lachapelle retired from day-to-day operations in 2018 but remains a shareholder
- Sources local ingredients beyond maple: strawberries, sea buckthorn and Saskatoon berries, plus coconut-milk-based vegan ice creams and sorbets
- Status
- open
- Address
- 7070, avenue Henri-Julien, Montréal, QC (Marché Jean-Talon)
- Maker
- Robert Lachapelle (co-founder, tax professional by training) and Richard Lachapelle (co-founder, self-taught; now runs day-to-day operations)
- Opened
- 2004
- Last checked
- 2026-08-21
Something wrong here? Tell us.