Stay Frosty: beloved restaurant in Haines Junction, Yukon, opens year-round

Haines Junction’s popular burger and ice cream stand, Frosty’s, is usually closed during the colder months.

But new co-owners, Grace Clunies-Ross and Jane Mendoza, are open for the winter. It comes from a desire to create more community space for locals. 

“People need people," said Clunies-Ross. "And ... our winter is very long and there is not really a place to go and have a chat with friends.” 

There are only so many gathering spaces in Haines Junction — a handful of restaurants, a skating rink, and the Daku Cultural Centre. The curling rink and swimming pool have been closed for years. 

Clunies-Ross and Mendoza took over Frosty's in February 2025, after looking for a larger kitchen in the area to expand their catering business. They opened in May of the same year, and ran it through the summer as usual. They decided to keep it open through the winter, in part because they would be using the kitchen anyway. 

For the last eight years, the sisters-in-law have been running the Top Spot Convenience store in Haines Junction. Mendoza has been in charge of the day to day business operations, while Clunies-Ross has been mainly the chef.

The small store is well-known for its freshly-cooked food, a rarity at gas stations. Clunies-Ross said she plans to keep the food at Top Spot and Frosty’s separate. 

Clunies-Ross said her dream has always been to own a café, and that’s why there’s a coffee-bar and freshly-made food at the convenience store, but there's no seating space. With the acquisition of Frosty’s she’s close to achieving her dream. 

“I would like to keep Frosty's as it is,” said Clunies-Ross. For many Yukoners, a summer trip through Haines Junction means a burger and ice cream stop there.

She said they may add to the menu over time, but will the things people love. This includes continuing hiring young people and locals as much as possible to work at the restaurant during school breaks.

“It's kind of overwhelming, because it has been closed for two years or so. They expected good food as usual, ice cream and you have to keep up to that,” said Mendoza. 

The one big change coming to Frosty’s is the addition of a coffee bar on one side of the dining room. Clunies-Ross said they’re hoping to have it open by spring. 

Kari Johnston, a Haines Junction resident, said “it’s so nice” to have another place open during the winter.

“It can be dark and depressing as we head into that December 21 solstice before the sun starts to come back," she said. "So having a place to go and visit and have a coffee with people is just perfect.”