Are your tastebuds craving something new?
Well, you’re in luck.
Crave, a new business owned by Heather and Tyler Cook, has rolled its way into Taylor County, so to speak, and will be serving rolled ice cream to customers, tentatively beginning in April.
Rolled ice cream, for those who don’t know, is a sweetened frozen dessert. It’s made of milk, cream, sugar and toppings.
Crave, located at 605 S. Columbia Avenue in Campbellsville, is in its soft opening phase, aiming to refine operations and receive feedback from the community about preferences in flavors before the official opening. Through its Facebook page, Crave regularly updates its followers on what days the store will be open leading up to the grand opening. The Cooks are planning on having a bounce house, movie night, giveaways and possibly a DJ for the grand opening sometime in April.
Beyond serving rolled ice cream and beverages, they also plan on hosting private events, such as gender reveals, birthday parties and sports team celebrations. Also, Crave will soon introduce pizza cones, and they have ambitious plans to clean up the outdoor space, complete with additional tables, cornhole boards and a designated area that’s dog-friendly.
“I would love to have a dog park so people can bring their pets and have dog treats and make rolled dog ice cream,” Heather said.
As if that weren’t enough, they’re already mapping out outdoor events, including movie nights for the summer season.
“Our goal is to have a safe space for kids to hang out,” Heather said.
The Cooks also own On Point Barber Studio located at 434 West Main Street in Campbellsville, as well as a sober living house. Tyler is a full-time barber while Heather is a full-time nurse. And, somehow, they also manage to be the parents of five children.
Their rolled ice cream business started as a joke during the pandemic when Heather pitched the idea to Tyler.
“I didn’t know what rolled ice cream was, but I thought it was cool and would be interesting to have in Campbellsville,” Heather said.
Heather didn’t think her husband took her seriously when she first started talking about it, especially since he had just opened his barber shop. They would talk about the idea from time to time, but it didn’t get serious until May of 2023, when Tyler came across someone on Facebook in Tennessee who was selling their entire rolled ice cream business, including all of their equipment and signage.
“I called Heather and said, ‘I bought you a business and we are looking at it tonight,’” he said.
The Cooks traveled to Tennessee to inspect the equipment and ultimately made the decision to buy it. They picked up the equipment, signage, etc., on July 31, 2023.
“This has been all God’s timing,” Heather said. “Everything has just worked out and has happened the way it’s supposed to.”
Heather and Tyler express gratitude to the community for its patience and kindness during their pop-up openings. They deeply value the positive feedback received both in person and on their social media platforms. Continuously attentive to customer suggestions, they strive to incorporate these ideas into their offerings. For instance, prompted by a Facebook request, they introduced a cookie butter flavor. Similarly, upon receiving requests for coconut and cotton candy flavors, they promptly added them to their menu, demonstrating their commitment to customer satisfaction.
“The community has brought in some creative flavor,” said Tyler. “We are going to have to redo the menu because of all of the new options they have brought to us.”
Heather and Tyler said their experience with the business, so far, has been crazy and overwhelming, but in a good way. They didn’t expect to be busy but during several of their soft openings, they’ve had lines going out the door and even around the corner of the building.
“People were waiting two hours in line, and that means a lot,” said Heather.
Tyler and Heather are thrilled to serve the community and have more fun things to offer this spring and summer. As they navigate the pop-up opening process, they are committed to discovering methods to operate efficiently.
“The community response has been very welcoming and very kind,” said Tyler.
Currently, Crave hasn’t finalized their summer operating hours. Tyler and Heather have discussed potentially staying open until 8 or 9 p.m. on weekdays and closing at 11 p.m. on weekends.
For updates on Crave’s hours, and for additional information, visit their Facebook page, “Crave.”
