A new ice-cream and gelato spot has opened in Whakatāne, giving families another place to stop for a sweet treat, particularly those visiting Bunnings.

Drizl-Up, located next to Jord Espresso in the Bunnings car park, has been operating for four weeks and has already been attracting plenty of customers.

Although separate businesses, they share staff and operate alongside each other.

Operations manager Melissa Slater said Drizl-Up was an opportunity to offer something different, particularly with summer approaching.

“Drizl-Up has a real family focused atmosphere, and we wanted to create a place where families can come and enjoy a treat.

“We want to offer families a great range of options, giving everyone something they can enjoy when they come out to visit us.”

The menu includes gelato, real fruit ice-creams and a range of hot and cold sundaes.

One of the popular options is the Berry Bomb, which includes berries, Whittaker’s chocolate and ice-cream.

There are also hot sundaes, including a heated cronut filled with custard and served with ice- cream, and a gluten-free chocolate brownie melt.

Dairy-free options include watermelon and mango sorbet.

Slater said the gelato was brought in from one of the country’s top gelato makers, while the business was also making an effort to source ingredients locally.

“Our strawberries are all locally grown. Our bananas are also locally grown,” she said.

“Just trying to localise it as much as we possibly can.”

Since opening, the ice cream business has seen steady weekday trade and particularly busy weekends.

At peak times, she said there could be between 20 and 30 people waiting for ice cream.

Slater said the location, outside the town centre and alongside the Bunnings site, had helped bring in passing customers, including people coming across from the nearby NPD.

Drizl-Up is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11am to 4.30pm.