MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Siuleen Liebl, owner of Milksmith, at their new under-construction location in Johnston Terminal at The Forks.
Clawing its way back
First of three new business opens at The Forks
By: Gabrielle Piché
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025
Reposted from the Winnipeg Free Press
SLOWLY but surely, Sara Bartlett and her daughters inched towards the glow of pink neon lights.
Bartlett learned of Biu Biu Zone through social media. Now here she was, on a Tuesday afternoon, waiting in line with roughly 25 others for the first-of-its-kind claw machine shop to open for the day.
Machines full of stuffed animals stared out from the store’s glass panes. Their toggles have been in use since May 30, when Biu Biu Zone launched.
It’s the first of three businesses new to Johnston Terminal at The Forks. The building, pockmarked by vacancies for months, will soon house a children’s art studio and Milksmith, a popular rolled ice cream shop.
“There’s a guarantee, I think, if you don’t (win),” Bartlett said upon entering Biu Biu Zone.
She watched her four-year-old try to navigate a claw, aiming for one of several toy puppies. After a failed attempt, Bartlett handed more coins for a second round.
About 100 people play at Biu Biu Zone daily, store co-owner Hao Ling estimated. He and his business partners have stocked the place with at least 36 claw machines.
“When I was here to check the location, it was pretty dead,” he said, adding he was “kind of worried.”
The site is midway between the Manitoba Children’s Museum and The Forks Market, and it’s the only claw machine store of its kind in Winnipeg. Its token packages range from $20 to $200.
A social media influencer helped spread awareness, Ling said. He’s planning on sticking to one location for now; Johnston Terminal is central, he noted.
The nearness to year-round Forks programming drew Milksmith’s Siuleen Leibl.
“(We’re) a seasonal business in a lot of people’s minds,” she said of Milksmith, which opened at 651 Corydon Ave. in 2019. In fact, Milksmith operates all year on Corydon although it also pops up inside Oma’s Bakeshop, a North Kildonan hub, during summertime.
Leibl had been looking for another permanent home for a while. Her company is known for its rolled ice cream; customers choose toppings and mix-ins like cookie pieces.
“We’ve been really grateful for the way that Winnipeg has embraced Milksmith,” Leibl said. “I just think (this is a) really great way to show that we’ve been supported.”
She signed a lease in May, she said, and received the final permit necessary to start construction Tuesday.
Erecting walls and implanting new décor needs to happen before opening day. Milksmith is replacing Planet Pantry, a refillable goods store.
Leibl may expand Milksmith’s drink menu — “more boba inspired,” she said — and offer “location-specific” menu items in Johnston Terminal.
Harrisons Coffee Co. is next door. Owner Al Dawson said he’s excited for “possible collaborations” with the incoming brand.
“We’re just really excited to work alongside all the neighbouring businesses,” Leibl said. “I think there are so many new businesses coming in, mixed with the businesses that have been there for 20, 30 years.
“It’s really an eclectic mix, but it’s got a lot of, I think, new energy.”
Milksmith, Biu Biu Zone and Cartizan Studio may bring new traffic to the site — a welcome disruption, said entrepreneur Beatrice Fan. Her family has run Mandarin International in Johnston Terminal for the past 35 years. The gift shop owners have noticed plenty of change, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of online shopping.
“It’s good to see there’s people still willing to invest (in physical storefronts),” Fan said.
Leibl didn’t have an opening date for Milksmith; she hopes to be done renovations in the coming weeks. Cartizan Studio’s art classes will begin Sept. 15.
“I’m excited to help people discover some medium or some style that they feel confident in,” said owner Kristen Okhmatovski. “And discover that they can be an artist.”
She increasingly used art during her literacy classes while working as a school librarian. In February, she decided she’d take a leap and create her own studio.
A former clothing shop in Johnston Terminal stood out. Okhmatovski signed the lease and hired a fleet of artists to help lead classes.
Cartizan Studio is largely geared to children, though there’s a daytime class for adults. Registration covers 10-week sessions and comes with a price tag of $300 to $375.
“While we don’t own the Johnston Terminal, it is a vital part of The Forks,” Forks spokesman Blair Malazdrewich wrote in a statement. “We’re thrilled to see them attracting quality commercial tenants.”
Leyad, a Montreal-based developer, acquired Johnston Terminal in April of 2024. Leyad didn’t accommodate an interview request but provided synopses of the new businesses.
Milksmith won a community leadership accolade through the Mayor’s Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) Awards this year. Cartizan Studios is a “natural extension” of Cartizan Face Painting, the side business Okhmatovski runs, Leyad relayed.
Milksmith, Oma’s team up to revive North Kildonan
ice cream portal
By Aaron Epp
Republished from The Winnipeg Free Press
July 5th, 2024
It might be the sweetest partnership since Ben met Jerry.
Milksmith, the Corydon Village ice cream shop with the bubblegum-pink door, has opened a second location in Oma’s Bakeshop in North Kildonan.
Employees are serving ice cream to walk-up customers via a pink window on the side of the north Winnipeg bakeshop, including cool treats featuring baking from Oma’s.
Milksmith owner Siuleen Leibl and bakery owner Quinn McMurray formed the partnership after connecting on social media.
“I really felt just by talking to her that we were a good fit,” Leibl said. “We were both wanting to do something for the community — something new and special.”
For McMurray, partnering with Milksmith means a special part of Oma’s Bakeshop can continue.
The store, located in McIvor Mall (1795 Henderson Hwy.), had an ice cream window from 2021-23, run by the bakery’s former owner, Greg Franklin.
When Franklin retired, McMurray announced on social media the ice cream window would remain closed this year. “The bakery had gotten so busy over the last while that I couldn’t take it over myself.”
Leibl saw McMurray’s social media post and the two started talking. Soon they were making plans for Milksmith to move in.
The Henderson Highway location is offering exclusive menu items, including a parfait made with Oma’s sticky cinnamon buns and an ice cream sandwich featuring the bakeshop’s cookies.
“These special treats are designed to bring the unique tastes of both Milksmith and Oma’s together, creating a truly unique and delicious experience,” Leibl said.
Partnering with local businesses has always been important to Leibl, who opened the first Milksmith location in 2019 at 651 Corydon Ave.
Known for its rolled ice cream, the shop has sourced ingredients from Manitoba businesses such as Utoffeea and Riverbend Orchards, and collaborated with local institution Jeanne’s Bakery to create a special dessert.
Leibl views Milksmith’s partnership with Oma’s Bakeshop as a celebration of local entrepreneurship.
“We believe that by working together, small businesses can create a stronger, more vibrant community,” she said. “Our new ice cream window at Oma’s (Bakeshop) will not only provide a new location for our loyal customers but also introduce Milksmith’s unique flavours to Oma’s existing clientele, fostering a sense of unity and mutual support among local businesses.”
Oma’s Bakeshop, which is around 50 years old, had an ice cream window for decades until 2003. McMurray bought the bakery in 2018, and brought the window back following extensive renovations in McIvor Mall that included a facelift for the Oma’s store front.
“There are a couple ice cream locations in North Kildonan, but not right where we are,” McMurray said. “I thought, let’s put a new window in there so we can revive what used to be the Oma’s Bakeshop window.”
Marla Herda is glad she did.
The North Kildonan resident visits Oma’s regularly with her husband and two young children.
Herda and her family were upset when they learned the ice cream window wouldn’t open for the summer — and relieved when they heard the sweet news Milksmith had scooped up the opportunity to move in.
“(It is) kind of our go-to place to get ice cream,” Herda said.
She and her family visited the second Milksmith location during its July long weekend soft opening.
“It was really good,” Herda said. “My daughter really loved the pink around the window and it was our first time trying the rolled ice cream.”
Oma’s Bakeshop offers more than 150 baked goods, including its bestselling cinnamon buns, apple jacks, custom cakes and tea biscuits.
McMurray is happy ice cream is on the menu again — and Milksmith is serving it.
“It (is) a very big deal for us,” she said. “I’m super excited about it.”
Yes, it's ice cream
Milksmith offers cool, sweet versions of sushi and bao dumplings for Asian Heritage Month
by Eva Wasney
Photo: Ruth Bonneville/ Free Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press May 14, 2024
Is it cake?
If you’ve been on the internet any time in the last decade you’ve probably been served at least one video of a knife cutting into an innocuous-looking food or household item only to reveal the realistic boot or hamburger or toilet paper roll was, in fact, an artfully decorated cake.
At Milksmith, “Is it ice cream?” is the common line of questioning.
The bubblegum-pink Corydon Avenue ice cream shop has been experimenting with the tradition of scoops and swirls since opening in 2019.
“We’re always trying to explore what ice cream can be. We (approach) ice cream like a medium for art,” says owner Siuleen Leibl.
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, Milksmith has released two novelty menu items: a sweet sushi platter, complete with chocolate “soy sauce” and matcha “wasabi,” and bao dumplings served in a bamboo steamer basket.
While the smiley faces on the avocado and salmon rolls are a pretty good giveaway, the platter — which features the plastic grass garnish seen on most sushi orders and is served with chopsticks — is a convincing dupe for the real thing.
Leibl doesn’t have an artistic background and is not a classically trained ice cream connoisseur. What she does have is creative drive and a knack for out-of-the-box thinking.
“I think it’s a benefit,” she says of her lack of official credentials. “For us, it’s about exploring, learning all the rules and then figuring out what else can be done. A lot of the oopsies become the a-ha moments.”
Milksmith, which typically specializes in rolled ice cream, has participated in Le Burger Week with a chocolate ice cream patty served on a doughnut bun and has created frozen elote (corn cobs) for Cinco de Mayo.
This isn’t the first time Leibl has served sushi in her shop. The ice cream approximation has gone through several rounds of development.
“If you saw the rough draft, it was nothing compared to the final product. A lot of times it’s flops over flops over flops, but we’ll keep going back to it,” Leibl says.
At first, the sushi toppings were made of fondant and the rolls filled with cake. Version 2.0 instead features edible meringue figurines and more ice cream, which has proved a popular revision among customers.
Ahead of Asian Heritage Month, which runs through May, Leibl wanted to add another specialty item to the menu. As with most new creations, she consulted with her staff of seven and settled on ice cream bao dumplings as the ideal mix of nostalgia and cultural appreciation.
“My parents used to make them as a street vendor in Vietnam,” says Leibl, who is Chinese and Vietnamese. “In my family, and in a lot of Asian cultures, learning how to pinch dumpling wrappers is something that you pass down to your kids, so for us, it’s about exposing more people to our (traditions).”
Bao dumplings are a dim sum staple that can be filled with all manner of savoury fillings. Milksmith’s frozen dessert version comes in three flavours: strawberry and yuzu, matcha, and ube.
“It’s nice for the younger generations to be introduced to those Asian flavours by making it fun and accessible,” she says.
The bao ice cream is a short-lived specialty — for good reason. It takes multiple days to make the mini masterpieces: one day for mixing and freezing the filling and another for mixing and moulding the vanilla ice cream exterior.
“It’s a labour of love,” Leibl says.
eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com
Twitter: @evawasney