Troy Schafer bought the business in December and has reopened it in Downtown Clinton
CLINTON, Tenn. — Last September, a popular ice cream shop in Norris was on the verge of being closed for good.
“It’s a place I’ve taken my kids, and I know a lot of families enjoy,” said Troy Schafer, Current Owner of The Chunky Monkey.
The Chunky Monkey has been a staple in Anderson County for years, so when the community heard the news about it potentially being gone for good, they stepped up.
“I wanted to make sure it was saved, and that it stayed here in Anderson County. So, I took an opportunity and bought it,” said Schafer.
Troy Schafer bought the shop in December after the previous owners decided to sell the business.
When it came to reopening the shop, he felt it was important to keep it within the original community, which is why he decided to bring it to Downtown Clinton.
“Small communities have their icons, they have things that are important to them. And the Chunky Monkey is one of those businesses that brought a lot of people together,” said Schafer.
Schafer said that since people found out about the store’s reopening, there have been plenty of people trying to get involved. They have been able to hire students from local high schools as well as previous employees from the original store.
“What I love is we have a mix of Clinton High School kids and Anderson High School kids, so it’s just more of bringing together of the community in the way I envisioned it would,” said Schafer.
Schafer also said even though the store is in a new location, the flavors they sell are all the same.
So for people who have a favorite, they can rest easy knowing it’s still available.
“You can’t grow up in Anderson County and not know of or not have been to the Chunky Monkey, so many of them grew up coming here. They’ve got menu favorites that they love, I mean everybody’s got something that they love about The Chunky Monkey,” said Schafer.
The Chunky Monkey is open now. Find out more information here.
