You know the adage. “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.”
Robert McLellan and his son, Aaron, have heard all those screams and have come to our rescue. Their answer to our cries is the Tennessee Central Soda Shop, recently opened in Monterey, offering premium ice cream, soda, coffee and bunches of snack items.
McLellan’s background has mostly been in the music industry and then in marketing for nonprofit organizations. His wife, Heather, spent her childhood summers in this area.
In 2019, the McLellans bought “The Yarn Patch,” in Crossville, a store for crafters, and in 2021, they completely renovated a 100-year-old building in downtown Crossville.
One day, McLellan and his son stopped to eat lunch in Monterey. They saw the old Walker Service Center building on the southwest corner of East Commercial Avenue and South Chestnut Street and thought how sad it was that such a unique building had been left to die.
“It obviously needed a lot of TLC,” McLellan said. “We started dreaming about what it could be.”
Robert wanted a pub-style restaurant, but Aaron loves diners. Since the location was adjacent to the train tracks and the depot museum, it was easy to decide on names for their business venture. Denoting the Tennessee Central Railroad history, the ice cream shop took the railroad’s name.
“We decided to marry the two ideas, the ice cream and soda shop, to hopefully act as a hook to invite people,” McLellan said. “And then, the more extensive pub/restaurant concept.”
The first phase is almost complete in what they had envisioned. They will still be adding food options and soon be adding a projector which will play train journey films from around the world. They will also have an outdoor seating area.
“Our ice cream comes from a company that only makes its product available through independent shops, most of which are in beach towns,” McLellan said. “We’re the only store in Tennessee to carry it. It’s a very creamy ice cream with a rich and old-fashioned flavor.
“We had a man in his 80s come in last week and order some butter pecan. He said it was just like he remembered. I thought that was a great testimonial. We have over 35 assorted flavors in stock, and they will rotate out so there may be a few different choices every time you come in.”
He said two spots are available for No-Sugar-Added flavors that rotate. And for those who cannot do dairy, the Tennessee Central Soda Shop always has four different ice creams made from coconut cream. This is produced on dedicated equipment, so there is no chance of cross contamination.
Some of the most popular ice cream flavors, so far, are Captain’s Chocolate, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and Cookie Monster — which has been a hit with the kids.
“Everything has proven popular,” McLellan said. “And we have some new flavors on the order we just unloaded. We’ll narrow things down a bit as we get feedback but expect that we will always be trying new things.”
Right now, the shop has ice cream, sundaes, and milk shakes, plus sodas, coffee and pastries including gluten-free options, and popcorn.
“We’re adding sandwiches very soon and then we will turn our attention to the next phase of construction,” McLellan said.
What is coming next? Phase 2 is to add the kitchen to expand the menu in the soda shop. And Phase 3 is planned as a neighborhood pub.
“We haven’t got a timeline yet,” McLellan said. “We’re just putting one foot in front of the other until it all becomes what’s in our head. Van Gogh supposedly said, ‘I dream my painting and then, I paint my dream.’ We’re trying to follow the same model.”
Need something to wash all that ice cream and other goodies down? The shop offers Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew in cans. It also carries Sioux City Root Beer, Cream Soda and will also have their Orange Cream, Sarsaparilla and Birch Beer very soon. They also have coffees (hot or iced) and iced tea and watermelon drinks and sorbets.
“We just installed our soda fountain machine,” McLellan added. “So, we have Italian sodas where you add your flavor. ‘Dirty’ sodas, where you add some half-and-half, are also available. While this seems to be this new trend, it’s usually called a ‘French soda’ and originated over 100 years ago!”
McLellan cannot say enough about the new staff at the shop.
“Wow, what a blessing we have had with our opening staff!” he exclaimed. “Rachel and Anna Grace grew up in the area and so know everyone. They each brought some food service experience as well. Dallas has been in the business since he was 15 and brings a great deal of experience and extremely high energy.
“Before applying, each of them read a little memo Aaron and I wrote that shared our vision of creating a place that was more than just an ice cream shop, but that would be a spot for folks to hang out a bit and be a part of the community. They have such warm, friendly and service-oriented personalities and are setting a high standard for whoever we hire next.”
What about the customers so far?
“Folks have been so very kind to us since starting that we’re confident this is the right place for us to call home,” McLellan said. “We look forward to meeting everyone.”
The Tennessee Central Soda Shop is located at 123. E. Commercial Ave., in downtown Monterey. They are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
You can follow the shop on its Facebook and Instagram pages.
Dining and Cooking