After being closed for a few months for renovations, Rustic Freeze and Rustic Couture are back open and as busy as ever with a great new look.
Owners Hope and Jimmy Diamond recognized a need for more space for their growing business and made a change that would be more beneficial both for customers and the business.
“We did this to give us more room,” explained Jimmy. “Before, we had a smaller area. Then, at lunchtime a lot of people started coming in wanting ice cream. It was really crowded at the front. This way, it gives everyone more space. People can come in and look around and decide what they want. Plus, they have a seating area. They can sit down and eat and don’t have to rush. They can shop at Couture, too, when they come through.”
Along with more room for customers, they also needed more space for the ice cream and lunches they make in the back.
“We had a very small cooking area before, and we did have a few people that said they wished we had a place to sit down for individuals or church groups and things like that,” added Hope. “All we had at the time was a picnic table, and it was either too hot or too cold to sit there and not really enough room. This is what we wanted to do. Mama calls it a mini Cracker Barrel.”
They made a lot of changes to combine the spaces for the businesses.
“A lot of work went into it,” described Hope. “We changed a lot. I’d get something started, and someone would suggest I do it a certain way. Then, we would do it that way and it would come out a lot better. I had a vision, and Jimmy did all the work. He had help one or two days doing the big projects like taking the big garage door down and taking out the wall, but everything else he did on his own.”
Of course, they also made some additions to the menu to go with their new look.
“We did add more ice cream,” declared Hope. “We already had the Italian ice and Blue Bell ice cream. We also added 12 flavors of Hershey’s ice cream. Now, we have 20 flavors of ice cream. We even have a sugar free flavor. We can make milkshakes out of any of those 20 flavors, too. We have lunch every day. We do mostly sandwiches, salads, and burgers. We’ve got a good selection of nostalgic candies and drinks that we’ve added.”
The improvements have helped both businesses flourish.
“We were closed for about four months, so I was scared everybody would forget about us and not come back. That was not the case. It’s really helped our business next door, too,” stated Hope. “With people coming through the boutique next door, they tend to shop in both places now. We have 12 vendors on the Couture side. They sale a variety of things from home décor, boutique clothing, accessories, and kids’ clothes.”
They are open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Lunches are offered each day Monday through Friday. They also have the snow cone stand in town that offers the same sweet treats and has a drive thru.
