Down Home Creamery opens in downtown Vinton

By Debbie Adams

Downtown Vinton has welcomed another new business to the heart of Vinton—Down Home
Creamery, located at 116 South Poplar Street in the space formerly occupied by the Vinton
Chamber of Commerce office and more recently, Rustic Creations.

“We are excited to be located directly behind the new Vinton Community Playground [across
from Vinton Baptist],” says owner Mason Drew.

Drew is a life-long resident of Vinton and a familiar face in the community as the owner of the
popular Firehouse Skate ‘N Play. He got his start there helping out at the souvenir counter as a
teenager.

Kelly Chewning, also a Vinton resident, is the current general manager at Down Home
Creamery.

Drew says the creamery opened in late October.

“New to the business, we opened at the end of the season to allow time to work out the kinks. By
the time summer arrives, we will be the ‘Ice Cream Experts,’” he said.

As for why he selected Vinton for the location of his new business, Drew explained, “We knew
that Vinton was a great place for business and is ever growing and expanding. We saw a need for
a dessert option within the town limits that folks could enjoy after their dinner at the new
restaurants around town. We wanted to have a place with good, quality ice cream, as well as
convenient and consistent hours.”

Currently, Down Home Creamery is open Sunday through Thursday from noon to 9 p.m. and on
Fridays and Saturdays from noon until 10 p.m. There are plans for extended hours in the
summertime.

If you are a fan of Homestead Creamery Products, there is no need to make the drive to Burnt
Chimney for that brand of hand-dipped ice cream or to purchase a container at the grocery store.
It’s now available at Down Home Creamery, where they serve “only the BEST Homestead
Creamery Products—24 hand-dipped flavors, plus eight flavors of Softserve,” according to
Drew. (Gingerbread flavor coming soon!)

(Note: Down Home Creamery is not directly affiliated with Homestead Creamery—both are
independently owned and operated.)

“Our Softserve is Homestead Creamery Vanilla Base with a ‘burst’ of flavor,” Drew says. “You
can choose from blue-raspberry, cotton candy, cinnamon bun, and more! You can even mix and
match for more flavor options.”

They also feature milkshakes, blizzard-style creations, flights, and sundaes. There is a dairy case
with different flavors of milks, eggnog, custard, and other Homestead Creamery products for
sale.

Drew says they chose the name, “Down Home Creamery” because “we felt it was a good
relation to the Town of Vinton. Vinton always has the ‘Home’ feeling. ‘Creamery’ gives us the
relation to the Homestead.”

As for employees, Down Home Creamery currently employs “ten fantastic ice cream scoopers”
and plans to add more during the summer months.

Drew says not much was required in the way of renovations at 116 South Poplar.

“We did not have to do much work to the space. Other than a fresh coat of paint, the suite was
ready for an occupant.”

“We are excited to be here and appreciate the business we have had. We have already built great
relationships with our customers and have already had a ton of repeat customers. Business is
great and we feel we will be here for a long time. We are also available for parties, groups, and
fundraising–the possibilities are endless.”

Santa will be making a special stop at Down Home Creamery on Dec. 16 from noon to 2 p.m.
Kids can enjoy soft serve for just 99 cents when they bring a handmade card or Christmas
wishlist for Santa.

You can also stop by Vinton’s Parade of Trees at the Vinton War Memorial and see the two trees Drew has created for the community event—one featuring ice cream ornaments (for Down
Home Creamery) and the other featuring skating (for Firehouse Skate ‘N Play).

For more information, special events, ice cream specialties, and featured flavors visit their
Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DownHomeCreamery.