Ashe County Cheese is located in West Jefferson, NC. It was established back in 1930 by Kraft…read moreCorporation, making it the oldest cheese plant in the state. It is the only commercial plant left in the state. Ashe County Cheese produces 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of cheese a week. The Blue Ridge Mountains were chosen for the facility by Kraft as there was a surplus of milk in the region from all the dairy farming. The lush high-altitude pastures were great for dairy cattle. Kraft bought up many smaller dairy farms and made a more modern, centralized facility so the cheese could be distributed and sold outside of the mountains. West Jefferson was the chosen location to collect the milk within a 50-mile radius. Ashe County Cheese Factory has a viewing room where you can watch cheese being made. This was the highlight of my visit as I got to watch most of the cheese curd process from separating the whey and curds to draining the whey to mixing and agitating to testing the batch to adding the salt. I left at that point to allow others to view, as the viewing room was on the small side. The retail shop is across the street, and you can buy all types of cheese, including the curds. I bought some butter cheese and white cheddar trims besides the curds. They have insulated bags to buy with ice packs so you can keep it cool and refreeze the ice packs. It stayed cold for the three days I needed it to, with time in a hot car and some time in a refrigerator. Besides cheese, they sold fudge, jams, crackers, candies and wine. I found great postcards too. If West Jefferson is too far to travel to buy some squeaky cheese curds, you can order online from their website.

Love this place ! Amazing selection of cheese. The candy by the pound is fun, huge selection to…read morepick and choose from. It's a must visit place in Ashe county

Great family owned and operated! We stop here every time we are in town! From the amazing aroma to…read morethe freshest ice cream - you won't want to miss out on any goodies from here. I got salted caramels last time - boy they hit the spot for that sweet and salty craving. My boys got yummy ice cream and my husband indulged in the fresh made caramel popcorn. Matter of fact...we are heading there again NOW!

From the owner: Kilwins, a beloved locally owned chocolate, fudge & ice cream shop, is known for Heritage…read moreChocolate, Original Recipe Ice Cream, Hand-Crafted Fudge & Caramel Apples, and other delicious confections. For over 75 years, Kilwins has used only the finest ingredients in our chocolate kitchen factory in Petoskey, MI, and in each store's open kitchen, where handcrafted confections are made right as you watch. Whether you're looking for a sweet treat to share, a special gift, or simply a moment of indulgence for yourself, Kilwins offers something for everyone. Come in and experience Kilwins for yourself, where every visit is "Sweet in every Sense since 1947"!

I miss when this was scoops the food was so good always, i have been going here since i was…read moreprobably 6 years old and its so sad to see its garbage now last time i went the food tasted horrible basically hospital food and the employees weren't pleasant at all. Hope to see this place turn around and actually sell GOOD edible food

I was really excited after the museum to go to this place. We walked in and there was a little…read moretable in front of the ice cream area. We didn't see anyone except one waitress there who was busy taking an order. We were a little confused because we didn't know if we just seated ourselves or if we needed to wait for the waitress to seat us. After standing there for a moment we decided to seat ourselves on the right hand side where the waitress was at. We looked over the menu and we already had came to a point in our waiting period that we discussed what we were going to order for a drink and food. Not once during that time period up to when we walked out was there an acknowledgement of our presence there. She could of at least said "let me get this order in and I'll be right with you." I do believe that there should be two people at the front. One at the ice cream area that's giving menus, and giving the tickets to kitchen and putting them on the ice cream counter. I believe putting a wooden topper on that appliance would help especially in white

Boondocks Brewing is where I had lunch after going to Ashe County Cheese Store and seeing some of…read morethe murals downtown. It is West Jefferson's first commercial brewery. The restaurant opened back in 2012. It is veteran-owned and employee-run. The restaurant doesn't have its own parking lot, but there is free parking on the street and in nearby lots. There is both inside seating, with a bar, but I didn't get much of a chance to see that as I opted to sit outside. I was enjoying the much cooler temperatures in Ashe County and decided to enjoy the fresh air. The outdoor patio isn't overly fancy--it features standard picnic tables--but it is fully covered and provides a very nice, relaxing open-air environment. My waitress was as friendly as could be and gave me plenty of time to look at the menu as I was having trouble deciding between a burger, the pot roast or the apple salad. I went with the pot roast as it was something not on the menu at most places. It was roasted for 8 hours and had mashed potatoes, veggies and gravy. It was delicious, and I was happy with my choice. Although I am sure I would have enjoyed the other options, I narrowed my choice down to them as well. Boondocks is a gem of West Jefferson, and I've already been planning a return trip.

We stopped in for a late lunch around 2 p.m. The restaurant is in a great location right on the…read moremain strip in downtown West Jefferson, and it looked inviting from the outside. After looking over the menu online beforehand, we were excited to give it a try. We were seated right away, but then waited over five minutes before anyone acknowledged our table. Our server, AJ (Adrianne, I believe), was friendly enough, but she seemed a bit overwhelmed or possibly stretched too thin. Since we'd already been waiting, we were ready to order both drinks and our meals at the same time, and that seemed to throw off the usual routine. Throughout the meal, it felt like we were inconveniencing her whenever we needed something, including asking if the music could be turned down. The food was the highlight. I had the biscuits with pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes, and the pimento cheese was exactly how I like it. My husband's tuna sandwich was good, although he wasn't a fan of the house fries--they were extremely thick, almost like eating a baked potato cut into wedges. We also ordered half sweet/half unsweet tea, but it was still much sweeter than we expected. The dining room itself felt a little plain for such a large space, and the 60s and 70s music was louder than we would have liked during lunch. Overall, the food was definitely the best part of our visit, and I'd order my meal again. With a little more attentive service and a more comfortable dining atmosphere, this could have been a much better experience.

8 of us came up to see the frescoes and had a great lunch here. The club sandwich was delish. The…read morekids had chicken tenders & loved them. The food is fresh, so there is a little wait time but worth it. Excellent service. Will definitely come back!!

We rolled in on bikes riding down the parkway and the place was pretty quiet at 10 AM on a Wed but…read morethe staff was helpful and the French Toast rocked.

This place was great, great breakfast sandwiches, great service from taking the order to quickly…read morebringing out to us, clean!! This my new coffee spot!!

This was such an amazing find! Third Day has everything…read more Coffee, breakfast, sandwiches and quesadillas, ice cream and pastries, a market, and a sprawling patio with a view. We opted to each lunch on the portion of the patio that was inside the greenhouse. It was so nice! The staff were all great and we loved the food! I had the Oldhouse grilled cheese which had avocado, bacon, tomato, and caramelized onions. Would definitely order it again!

Food was great. Service was great. But I ordered the digital jr frosty tag and was charged for it…read more Not on my app and no email except for receipt from my purchase of food and tag. Chatted on the App. Said they would look into it. Still have not received it or a refund. Never going to order something like that again from Wendy's.

Ordered Coffee at 10:10 and was asked to pull forward to wait so my friend and I opened our egg and…read morecheese muffin and it was cold, refrigerator cold! Cheese, egg and muffin. Took it back in to complain and have them heat it up and had to actually tell them to at least heat it in the microwave. Another customer came in with the same problem. Still had to stand there and wait for coffee . Absolutely ridiculous. Their reply was the muffin was run through the toaster. Nothing was warm at all!!!