A sweet Afton tradition

AFTON - Ten flavors of ice cream and solid diner food are what has made one Afton business a tradition and celebration of the local community. The Sweet Afton Creamery, one of the first businesses you see when driving into the town square, is now open for the season.

Although the creamery has only been open for four years, the location has become a landmark for the people of Afton, a family-friendly location with tasty treats. Word-of-mouth has been a strong asset for the business, helping spread the tradition even further.

The business is owned by Terrinda McIntire, who has been an essential part of managing the business. She personally got involved with the renovations the building has undergone this winter.

The opening of the creamery took place during Saturday’s Afton Spring Thing event, which also marked a chance for the business to celebrate alongside other local vendors and businesses.

The new renovated building sports a newly repainted white exterior, as well as new black barn doors. The new colors keeps the building’s look modern but still consistent with the tradition. It has been a popular location in the perfect position to serve visitors who drive through Afton.

From the first hour of being open, cars and trucks filled the small patch that was the creamery’s drive-thru, looking to get their first bite and sweet treat of the season.

It’s important for the creamery to also represent the community effectively. The creamery hires new sets of young part-time workers at the start of every season who can learn effective skills during their time working there.

“It’s harder than you think to make a pretty cone,” McIntire said.

Ingredients for the food are often provided locally, something that is a priority for McIntire. “If I do anything, whether buying products or help, or something needs to be done, I hire locally,” she said.

In addition, community input on the menu and design choices is vital for the creamery. An ice cream topping with bacon, called the “Wilbur,” is one of the community ideas that became a hit for the creamery. These unique menu items are popular, but also help the eatery stand out.

These new items are refined by McIntire until they are good for serving. She recalled the process for the lemon ice cream.

“It took me quite a while to get the lemon ice cream recipe where people liked it,” she said. “I would make it and then I would say, try this. That was really hard to make it so it wasn’t so bitter.”

Communication with the community and surrounding areas through Facebook is important for receiving the input. The Facebook page is managed by McIntire’s daughter, Dalli, one of the many members of the family that contribute to the creamery.

Multiple members of the family work together in the business to help it run smoothly, especially toward the beginning of the season with the training process.

Sweet Afton Creamery is located on 302 North Douglas Street.