MOUNT VERNON — A new ice cream shop about a mile south of the city will give people a place to sit outside, admire a nice view of the surrounding countryside and enjoy homemade ice cream.
The Countryside Creamery & Treat Shop will open sometime around the middle of May, according to co-owner Lisa Buchanan, who will be running the business with her husband, Tom Buchanan. The shop is at 7411 Newark Road, in the former eKnox Trader building.
She said they will specialize in homemade ice cream, but will serve several other kinds of desserts such as ice cream cakes; ice cream pizzas; gelato, a kind of low-fat Italian ice cream served at a warmer temperature; and Italian ices, a non-dairy frozen dessert.
“We like the community and the general public,” Buchanan said. “With the warmer weather, it’s a great time to open.”
She said she would also like to offer coffee, tea and a variety of morning snacks — muffins, yogurt and homemade granola — for people on the go, and may add other items to the menu depending on the expressed wishes of people in the community.
Buchanan said she and her husband have several years in the restaurant business, and were formerly the owners of the Parkside Restaurant in Mount Vernon and the Village Inn and the Gambier Grille, both in Gambier. She said they wanted something a little less labor intensive.
“We just felt it was time for a change,” Buchanan said. “We like the location; it’s in the country.
She said Countryside will give area residents a nice place to go and have frozen desserts without having to drive out of town. Buchanan added that there will be some seating inside as well as outside of the building.
In Utica, a new organic food store called Renetta’s Organic Oasis opened April 21 at 120 S. Main St., according to business owner Renetta Shaffer. The 1,200-square-foot store is located across the street and a little south of Watt’s Restaurant and the Ben Franklin’s retail store, and next door to her husband Scott Shaffer’s chiropractic office.
Shaffer said her store has a wide variety of organic products, including produce, dairy products, dry goods, prepackaged organic products, maple syrup, salsa, frozen meats, organic cat and dog food, and low-chemical cleaning products. Many of the items come from local farmers, which she sees as a benefit both to area farmers and customers. She said she thinks there is a real local demand for organic food, but many people in the area have to leave the Utica area to find it; even then, she said, they often have to go to different stores to get what they need.
Shaffer said she has worked in restaurant management locally for about six years, but made a decision she no longer wanted to be involved in serving people unhealthy food. She said she has a passion for all things organic food; both she and her husband study nutrition as part of his practice, and made the decision to eat healthier, organic foods.
Shaffer and her husband live in Fredericktown, but she grew up in Utica and her husband has had an office there for 17 years.
In other local business news, a spokesman for O’Reilly’s Auto Parts said the company expects to open its new chain store at 806 Coshocton Ave. on May 9. The 6,300-square-foot building is located next to Friendly’s restaurant.
