Local business offers cool new treat

BROOKHAVEN — Tucked away in the back half of The Crouton is a new serving station for rolled ice cream. It is a cool treat to beat the heat stress conditions forecast this week.

Owner Donna Therrell first opened The Crouton in 2020 just a few weeks before COVID-19 shut down business as normal in the nation. Located at 103 South Railroad Avenue, the restaurant was opened with the goal of offering something for everyone.

New hours for the salad bar and rolled ice cream is another way of accomplishing the goal. Therrell calmed any customer fears about steak night. She said they will continue to do Steak night on Fridays.

“I thought it would be special to have salad and ice cream in the evening. To offer something else for our community,” Therrell said. “It has worked out pretty well…My sister and I stopped and got some rolled ice cream in Flowood. I watched them make it and I was interested. I looked into how to make rolled ice cream.”

Fried ice cream

Other countries call the rolled ice cream “fried ice cream,” because the process mimics stir-fry. Similar to hibachi, a customer can enjoy the dessert and the show as employees chop, smooth and roll.

Therrell said she really studied rolled ice cream and decided it would be a good option. “Ice cream is fun,” she added.

She said they have learned they need to raise the ice-cream rolling station so staff are not hunched over.

Her husband Davis Therrell said for some reason ice-cream places tend to not do well in Brookhaven. The Crouton should have solid footing by offering rolled ice cream in addition to their lunch menu, steak night and salad bar.

“It is something for the kids to be excited about,” Davis Therrell said.

The rolled ice cream can be exciting for adults too. Donna Therrell loves ice cream, especially in the winter months. She said her favorite flavor of the rolled ice cream is strawberry with strawberries mixed in.

“It is really good,” she said.

The rolled ice-cream has a nice creamy texture. Therrell said she worked hard to find a recipe that would produce the right consistency.

Keeping people interested

The Crouton currently plans on having a flavor of the week for the rolled ice cream. Donna Therrell said she plans to have a special combination with fruit-roll ups and a cup inspired by the cookie monster. Ice cream and a full salad bar might seem contrary to each other but Donna Therrell said they bring customers in.

“We want to offer something to keep people interested,” Donna Therrell said. “We wanted to utilize the space we have.”

Customers come in and pick up an order card where they can select a flavor of ice cream, two toppings, an add-in flavor and drizzle for their order. They can then go to the back and watch their rolled ice cream be made on a table which gets down to a negative 18 degrees.

The ice cream is not made instantly but is fun to watch.

“Instead of having to churn the ice cream for hours this just takes a few minutes,” Donna Therrell said. “We were in here last week trying to make the ice cream perfect. We are pros now. We rolled so much ice cream in the first week.”

Stop by from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday to enjoy a cup of rolled ice cream.

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