New Morganton NC ice cream sandwich shop has dog greeter

Ice Cream Sammies opened on Dec. 17. Store owner Rodney Vaughn was inspired by ice cream sandwich shops that he visited during a few of his travels.

The store's name has two meanings. The title refers to the ice cream sandwiches on the menu and the store’s Chihuahua-terrier mascot, Sammy, Vaughn said.

“Sammy is a local celebrity,” Vaughn said. “Everyone downtown knows Sammy. And I wanted to move to Morganton because it's such a dog-friendly community.”

The shop exclusively uses Blue Bell ice cream that they source from Charlotte. They bake a fresh batch of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies daily to serve with their ice cream sandwiches.

“You can have an Ice Cream Sammie, which is an ice cream sandwich between two cookies, and you can get your flavors. They can be the same or different,” store manager Keira Souther said. “We have homemade waffle cones, we have sugar cones, cake cones, or you can just get a bowl, a milkshake.”

Customers can choose from a selection of specialty offerings called “Sammy's faves,” including the dog’s personal favorite, sweet pecan pie, which includes pecan pralines ‘n' cream-flavored ice cream and butter sugar cookies topped with caramel drizzle. Customers also have the option to create their own frozen sandwiches. Ice Cream Sammies has a selection of 15 different flavors of ice cream, offering eight flavors at a time to pair with its nine varieties of cookies.

The store also offers a list of seasonal varieties, such as Christmas cookie and mint chocolate chip. Vaughn said he plans to change up the menu every season, offering new types of drinks, ice cream sandwiches and other baked goods throughout the year.

“In the summer, we'll have the homemade peaches and cream, things like that,” Vaughn said. “We're also going to add some flavored teas when the weather gets warmer.”

Vaughn said the most unique combination he’s seen a customer order was orange sherbet between chocolate and chocolate chip cookies.

Customer Bethany Alexander said her favorite thing about the ice cream shop is its variety of flavors.

“Saturday was my first time here, and I love the place,” Alexander said. “I had to come back.”

Priscilla Guido and her family from Miami, Florida, stopped by the shop while visiting family in Morganton.

“It’s very quaint. I love that they have a dog here,” Guido said. “Everything is really nice, it's very pretty. But it also feels homey.”

In October 2023, Vaughn opened up Viva la Vintage a few doors down from his ice cream shop on Sterling Street. 

“I specifically moved to Morganton to open this,” Vaughn said. “[I] was blessed to find this spot on Sterling Street between a couple of other record stores. So it fits in really well”

The store sells vintage clothing, records, turntables, games and other items. Every three weeks, Vaughn said he hunts through local estate sales, yard sales and markets to change up the variety in the store. Customers can also bring in some of their vintage belongings to trade in or receive store credit for store items.

 “If you buy off-the-rack clothes, someone else is going to look just like you in their off-the-rack garment. If you're shopping vintage clothing, you're choosing from decades worth of clothing,” Vaughn said. “You can mix and match things, and you're going to come up with an individual look.”

Vaughn said he plans to partner with local animal shelters in the future.

“I'd like to do a lot of cooperative things with the local shelter and pet rescue. Maybe do benefit night or split profits a day or two,” Vaughn said. “Sammy's a shelter dog, so that would kind of go back to his roots.”

Sammy splits his time between the two stores either napping or greeting customers. He can be found at the ice cream shop every afternoon after 2 p.m., according to Vaughn.

“I love people's faces when they walk in the door,” Souther said. “The customers' reactions and how sweet they are. And when they leave happy, that makes me happy.”