TABOR CITY, N.C., Sept. 13, 2016 — Homemade ice cream is difficult to find these days.

But one place that has it is The Creamery at Daddy Joe’s, which is located inside a log cabin at the family owned Jellystone Park in Tabor City.

In fact, ever since park co-owner Rick Coleman and his son, Jesse, started making their own ice cream five years ago, they’ve built up a loyal following of Jellystone Park campers, Tabor City residents and natives from across the Carolinas who regularly visit their park to satisfy their cravings for homemade ice cream.

This year, the Colemans expect to produce more than 30,000 servings of homemade ice cream, a 50 percent increase from last year, and demand continues to grow.

“You go there on Sunday afternoons and you’ll see people (from Tabor City) in their Sunday dresses because they go there after church to have ice cream,” said Stephen Coble, a trial lawyer who frequently drives an hour and 15 minutes one way from his home on the coast to enjoy his favorite homemade ice creams at The Creamery at Daddy Joe’s.

“Most people from inland drive to get away to the coast, but we go in reverse. The ice cream is that good,” Coble said, adding, “If all the people in Myrtle Beach knew what they were missing, we’d never be able to get in there.”

Link Hewitt and his wife live 100 miles to the northeast in Richlands, which is a good two-hour drive from the Jellystone Park in Tabor City. But that doesn’t stop them from hopping in their car and making the four-hour round trip drive to The Creamery at Daddy Joe’s on Sunday afternoons.

“We go just for the ice cream,” Hewitt said. “Plus, they have some of the best hospitality you’ll ever find in a campground.”
Hewitt said his favorite homemade ice cream flavors are peanut butter and jelly, followed by butter pecan with banana pudding coming in third, while his wife likes “Deer Tracks” the best.

The Creamery at Daddy Joe’s also makes its own waffle cones. “You walk in and the whole place smells like waffle cones because we’re cooking them behind the counter,” Jesse Coleman said.

“It’s hard not to get one when you smell it walking in the door,” Coble said.

Jesse Coleman said he has produced 85 flavors of homemade ice cream, but the most popular flavors are “Purple Cow,” a grape flavored ice cream; orange pineapple, an orange flavored ice cream with chunks of pineapple; strawberry Oreo; blueberry cheesecake; carrot cake; and “Deer Tracks,” which is vanilla ice cream mixed with pieces of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped peanuts and liquid peanut butter.
Coleman said he likes to experiment with new flavors, his latest being “Carolina Reaper Ice Cream,” which is a blend of vanilla ice cream with two Carolina Reaper peppers, pineapple and chopped nuts.

Coble’s favorites are “Deer Tracks” and orange pineapple. “My youngest daughter is obsessed with Purple Cow. My other daughter likes the mango sorbet,” he said.

Of course, people don’t just come to the Jellystone Park in Tabor City for homemade ice cream. They also come to camp overnight and participate in the organized family activities and themed weekdays and weekends with Yogi Bear, which help families create unique memories. Activities include arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, as well as pool activities and evening movies.

Upcoming are five consecutive pre-Halloween themed weekends beginning Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 with campsite decorating contests, pet costume contests, trick or treating and a haunted trail. In addition to RV and tent sites, the campground also has rental cabins. Day use passes are available for visitors who don’t plan to spend the night. Information on park activities, amenities and rental accommodations is available at https://taborcityjellystone.com.