There is a Homestead creamery which is outside of Roanoke and is affiliated with a farm. However,…read moreit is a long way to get to and is not open on Sundays, so I was glad to find that this shop sells that particular local ice cream in the location that is easier to get to. It is a basically 100% dairy operation so if you are seeking non-dairy ice cream. It is a basically 100% dairy operation so if you are seeking non-dairy ice cream then Blue Cow is a better destination (despite the name). However, if you want a full flavored dairy ice cream, this place delivers. I was a little miffed that their flavors had a Virginia Tech tinge, which is not my affiliation, but the Hokie Berry was a delicious flavor and their mint chip was strong. There isn't a whole lot else immediately around, but this shop was reasonably busy.

I heard about this new ice cream creamery in Vinton, Virginia, that opened a few months ago, and…read moreafter visiting their website, and seeing they had Peanut Butter Ice Cream, decided to go and try it out. The Down Home Creamery is located in a small, modern, red brick, business building on 116 S Poplar Street in Vinton, not too far from the Vinton Library. As one enters the glass doors of the creamery, the decor is modern black and white with accent wood and light color hardwood floors. The place is very clean and well maintained and has a freezer with 24 flavors of ice cream right as you enter and covered with very clean and clear glass doors for one to see and appreciate the different flavors available. It also has many bottles filled with toppings, as well as a variety of Waffle cones and bowls. The atmosphere is very relaxed with fresh air circulation that make you feel comfortable when ordering and eating your ice cream. There was a young lady attendant who greeted me with a smile and took my order of two scoops of Peanut Butter Ice Cream in a Waffle Bowl. The Waffle was fresh and crispy, while the ice cream had just the right smoothness to bring out its flavor at its best. The young lady attendant spent time cleaning the counter as I ate my ice cream in one of the tables of the place. Two other customers arrived while I was their and they were fascinated by the many flavors that they ordered a scoop of several of them. I really enjoyed the place, the service, and the very creamy ice cream. If any of you are like me, that just love ice cream and eating it in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, I highly recommend this creamery. And as for me, I definitely will be coming here some more from now on and tell others about the place.

Delicious ice cream and cookies. I had a flight of 4 small scoops of ice cream and a cookie. I…read morehad Maple Pecan, blue Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie & ??? (lol I forgot the 4th one) with a snicker doodle cookie. Every one of the ice creams were so flavorful and delicious. The cookie was great! Nice and chewy. The inside is a bit dirty, the bench cushions look like it has seen some kids with ice cream drippings. It wasn't unsanitary however. Service was great. The girl behind the counter was very nice and pleasant to speak with. I highly recommend giving Rookies a try.

I first reviewed Rookie's (Handcrafted Ice Cream Sandwiches) when it opened at the Patrick Henry…read moreHistoric building in Downtown Roanoke; just across the street from the Social Security building and the Roanoke Public Library - Downtown Branch. I did so after having visited it several times, having had their ice-cream and homemade cookies, and having talked to and interviewed their store employees as well as their truck driver who brings their ice-cream and cookie dough from Lynchburg, Virginia. Now that Rookie's has relocated from their Downtown Roanoke store to Cave Springs, at 3549 Electric Rd, Suite D, I have decided to visit their new location, and write an update review. I urge all the readers to this review to also go back and read my first review and accompanied photographs to learn more about the history of the company. For Rookie's is more than just an Ice Cream Parlor. It's a place where desserts and friends meet to create something memorable. Their employees are encouraged to establish conversations with their customers and answer questions about their company and their products. And their comfortable ambiance and seating area contribute to the enjoyment and extraordinary sweet dining experience while people socialize with family and friends, and share quality time with them. The new location is more family-friendly and has more parking than their previous location. The residents of Cave Springs have welcomed Rookie's with open arms and have become steady customers in a relatively short period of time. I was impressed to find out that it is located in thr same Shopping Center as Cafe Asia 2 Restaurant, one of my favorites Asian Restaurants. Rookie's continues to offer different flavors of cookies, homemade ice cream, and signature ice cream sandwiches, in a clean and simple interior design relaxing environment, and with excellent customer service from their warm, knowledgeable, and friendly staff. Today I visited the new location with a friend and both of us interacted with the servers and had ice-cream sandwiches. Mine was Mint Chocolate Chip cookies with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. The combination of the two made the perfect sweet snack or dessert. During the time we were there chatting and enjoying our ice-cream sandwich, we saw many other customers come in and do the same. It seems that Rookie's made a great strategic move for a win win situation between the company and its customers. A quote from the owner of the community I feel best describes it best: "We believe that community is built on a foundation of celebrating something good and we believe our handcrafted ice cream sandwiches. Ice cream, cookies & milk will bring you together! We're all about the memories made and the nostalgia we hope you feel whenever you tuck in to a treat with friends and family." All of Rookie's ice cream is handcrafted in Lynchburg, and they offer vegan and gluten-free options. Rookie's hopes to continue expanding to other locations, with some customers even asking for a location in North Carolina. I highly recommend this business and its products, and consider it one of the City of Roanoke's gem.

Omelette was over cooked, with large sun-dried tomatoes inside. The coffee was cold and in short…read moresupply. Will not go back and would not recommend.

This is a local chain; if there's one thing Roanoke has a lot of it's bakeries (and if there's two…read moreit's bakeries and cafes). The selection here was a little more robust that the other location of this chain I visited. It's a lot of indulgences, but if you're going to eat sweets, do it right, has always been my credo. The chocolate mousse cake I ordered delivered a mix of tastes and textures that was worth the price and the time. I wish their food menu had a little bit more in the veggie department, but as a pastry shop, they have some good options.

Sounds like it's official - I went to look online about the progress of the new home of Chris's at…read morethe historic Starkey School building as revealed to me by the owner when I met her when I came in for custard a couple months ago while I was in the area. Read my review - EXCEPTIONAL HOMEMADE CREAMY DREAMY CUSTARD! The article I just read online seems to indicate plans for the shop and business relo are well underway! YAY for Chris's! See the article posted on July 15, 2025 here: https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2025/07/16/chriss-coffee-and-custard-to-move-to-new-location/ Their current building lease expires Aug 30 2025 (apparently sooner than the owners had expected). Anticipated opening date at the new location at Starkey School is January 2026! Very cool and exciting news!! CONGRATS AND BEST WISHES TO CHRIS'S! If the decor, ambiance and vibe of the new location is anything like the current location (and I'm told it will be, and so much more!), I can't wait to stop in when I'm in the area next after the new place opens!

This is one of Roanoke's repurposed industrial buildings; it's a more interesting space than I…read morewould have guessed in advance and you can certainly hang around for a while. The other part that's notable is that this is a business that employs people with developmental disabilities. I surveyed the dessert options and ended up on a seasonal apple pie shake. With frozen custard as a base, it is a smooth shake. The apples didn't quite blend completely, but I wasn't particularly disappointed to have to eat a couple of cinnamon apple pieces at the end of my shake. Their food options are baked goods made in advance, and they do have almond milk for beverages, but I suspect the custard-based desserts are going to be the best offerings for my needs. It is the kind of place where when I offered thanks for my dessert, I got a reply of "my pleasure" and believed it.

First time going, Absolutely incredible food. Everything was fresh, everything is clean. The…read morebagels, the falafel, the gyro meat, the backlavas! 14/10 I will be back 100 times.

Unfortunately, very disappointing coffee and chai. The beverages felt watered down and not like how…read moreyou would normally expect from a cafe. The syrups weren't mixed in, and the straws were too flimsy to mix it in. My chai was too sweet for me and wasn't something I really wanted to finish. My boyfriend alternated between my drink and his own which he said was more balanced. Service was quick.

So many options to choose from. Staff was extremely friendly and let us try as many flavors as we…read morewanted. Luckily it was only three before I had a winner lol. Packed parking but it was worth it. Plenty on seating inside and outside.

Stopped by with friends while in the area recently. This little creamery has it going on. The…read moreafternoon of our visit, the place was packed. The interior is open with walk up counter service. A large family style table with chairs and a few small tables along the window to the left of the counter and register area. The staff are all friendly and engaged, there were multiple staff helping folks in three different service lines and that made the wait on line minimal and the service fairly quick. A nice selection of ice creams for most tastes, with a menu board of the daily offerings is posted overhead. After giving the menu a look over, I opted for a two scoop bowl - butter pecan and vanilla. Both were very good and a nice sized serving. My friends and I grabbed a seat at the large family style table and enjoyed our frozen treats. All in all a solid choice for frozen treats and worth the wait if its busy. Its often busy. 4 Stars - recommended 01099

This family-owned ice cream parlor is located in Virginia's Market Square East Shopping Center on…read moreOrange Ave in Roanoke, Virginia; In the same Shopping Center as the Roanoke Antique Mall and the Big Lick Comics store. This ice cream parlor is decorated with old memorabilia of the past hung from its walls and some on top of its counter. The ceiling is simple style, as well as its furniture, which are some booths and some tables and chairs. Its brown carpet which is the type of square pieces put together is old and stained in several area and could use a replacement to make the place looked cleaner and more cheerful. Yet this place radiated old-fashioned charm and warm hospitality. They mainly sell hand-dipped Hershey's ice cream and classic Nathan's hot dogs. And it seems they do Birthday Parties and Sports Banquets because they had a sign on one of the walls to this effect, as well as Sports League pictures. I went with a friend of mine after visiting the Roanoke Roanoke Antique Mall, which is the largest Antique Store in the area. Two young ladies employees treated us with a smile and took our order behind the counter. They graciously allowed me to try out two flavors that I was undecided on, with tiny Spoons. My friend had a scoop of Bourbon Truffle ice cream in a waffle cone and I had a scoop of Peanut Butter Twist ice cream also in a waffle cone. The waffle cones, although not made in-house, were nice and crispy, and the ice cream was creamy and very tasty. This place clearly serves an important role in this community and brings lots of joy to all those who visit it. With the suggestions I brought up in my review, the owners can make sure it will continue to do so for years to come.

As we walked into the ice cream parlor. You could smell the Nathan hot dogs and macaroni and…read morecheese. This shop has 40 different flavors of Hershey's ice cream. They make shakes, sundays, and banana splits. They have waffle cones, sugar cones and cake cones. Many areas to sit to enjoy your treat. The ladies inside were very patient informed on the ice cream and offered samples. This is a pretty neat little mom and pop ice cream shop.

When I first dined at this restaurant for dinner the dining experience was so good that I expressed…read morea desire to return for breakfast someday. Today I finally had an opportunity to do so, and so early in the morning I drove up to the restaurant for breakfast. When I arrived, a friendly lady greated me at the Host's station and had me seat at the table of my choice. I sat down in one of the booths and shortly after my server arrived, greeted me, and took my order. I ordered coffee to drink. To eat, I ordered the Meat Lover's Triple Meat Omelet, with homefries and white toast. My server put in the order, and yet it took a bit long to arrive. Other customers who arrived after me received their orders before mine arrived. When my order finally arrived. It looked good. They put cooked peppers and onions on top of my homefries just as I requested. The american cheese melted inside with the bacon, country sausage & ham, however the amount of meat was little compared to other places where I've had breakfast before and the price was almost double. The ambiance of the place was relaxing, and the breakfast tasted good, but just good, not great, so I wouldn't mind having breakfast here again, but I wouldn't call it a favorite place to have breakfast.

My experience working there is ok. Sometimes I feel isolated and this makes me feel all alone, but…read morethere are great people working here who shows me genuine kindness, and that makes up for my feeling of loneliness.

There are times that the simple things in life bring the most pleasure. For instance, I enjoy…read morediscovering out of the way breakfast restaurants and then on my days off, getting up early in the morning and going to these small but cozy, one of a kind places and enjoying a nice hometown breakfast in a relaxed environment and meeting new and interesting people; the owners, cooks, and servers of these small businesses who provide a product and service that bring joy to the members of our community and to those who are visiting it. After spending some time searching for one of these places, I found one called Jerry's Family Restaurant. I was attracted by the name of the restaurant, but also by the red building in the shape of a country barn, where it was the restaurant was housed. As I arrived at the place following my GPS, the red barn shaped building got closer and closer, and I could read Jerry's Family Restaurant, "Home Style Eats." Breakfast and Lunch Daily. Precisely what I was looking for. As I entered the place, I was impressed by how even though the building was old, it was very clean and painted and decorated in simple but very good taste. Chad, who was doubling up as my host/server, greeted me warmly, took me to my booth, and handed me a copy of the menu. Before even reading the menu, I looked around and admired the very well maintained Walnut hardwood floors contrasting with the light beige and white painted walls and ceilings. I ordered coffee to drink with cream and sugar, and Chad, my server, didn't take long to have the hot and freshly brewed coffee on my table, together with a glass of cold ice water. For breakfast, I ordered Three Eggs over easy with Bacon, Fried Yukon potatoes, w/onions, and white toast. And with French Toast as a little something extra. As I was waiting for my food, many other customers came in and were seated, and a lady came in with a "to go" order as well. Whom I guess was the owner/cook, a very nice lady, came out from the kitchen area and up to me and said hello, making me feel at home, as I waited for the home cooked food. Then Chad brought me the food and filled my coffee cup with some more freshly brewed and hot coffee. Everything tasted delicious. Take a look at my photographs, and you will be able to appreciate it better. After all, they say that "A picture is worth a thousand words." Then read the menu that I also photographed to be able to read the nice variety of both breakfast and lunch items available. And somehow eating my food in this cozy, warm, and friendly environment made it taste even better. I highly recommend this place to everyone reading my review and can assure you that you'll have a unique dining experience like no other.

Food is mediocre and the prices are astronomical considering how basic the dishes are. Also an…read moreoverwhelming cleaning solution smell.