Photo by Mia Watkins
Andy Findlay has worked at Mountain Brook Creamery for a decade.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working in Mountain Brook?
A: The community. Everybody kind of knows everybody. It’s like a small-town feel. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve been here forever. It’s very nostalgic.
Q: How long have you been here?
A: About 10 years.
Q: How many flavors of ice cream do you guys carry at one time?
A: We have 44 out at one time. We rotate about 75.
Q: What’s your favorite flavor?
A: Uh, Stellar Coffee. It’s a coffee-based ice cream with chocolate — everything good.
Q: What’s your most popular flavor?
A: Cookies and Cream, right now.
Q: Why do you think Mountain Brook has such a small-town feel?
A: A lot of people who grew up here stay here. They come back here and raise their kids here.
Q: Are you from Mountain Brook?
A: I’m from Homewood. It’s just across the street, pretty much.
Q: Did you come here before you started working here?
A: I grew up coming here. My family is from Mountain Brook, so it’s like a tradition. We’d go to Davenport’s Pizza and we’d walk down here to get ice cream.
Q: Was the coffee ice cream your favorite flavor back then?
A: No, it was mint chocolate chip. My parents gave me like three flavors to choose from, and it had to be on a sugar cone. That’s what we did. No waffle cones, nothing like that. I’ve been coming in here my whole life. My dad did, his dad did.
Q: What do you think is the reason that people keep coming back?
A: Probably the nostalgia. We know a lot of customers’ names. We know their orders. They come in here, they unwind, sit down and talk.
Q: How does Mountain Brook Creamery fit into the community?
A: If you’ve won a game, you’ve lost a game — it’s just a good place to come celebrate. Ice cream makes you happy. You go to the doctor, and you bribe your child with ice cream. They go out to eat, and they want to come in here. It’s just kind of one of those things.
Q: Is it the nostalgia that made you want to work here?
A: I think so. Also, you’re selling ice cream. Sad people come through the door, and they’re leaving happy. It’s just a good culture.
