Five questions with ... Emily Miller of Country Cones
On any given day, Country Cones on Middlebranch Road in Plain Township has a line of customers standing through its parking lot. People come for the ice cream and the hot sandwiches, including what’s labeled as the "Best Coney in Stark County."
The popular ice cream stand is owned by the Williams family. Emily Miller is one of the owners.
It really is a family affair with Emily and her husband David Miller and their three children ages 8, 5 and 3 working with her parents Keith and Linda Williams; her older sister Adrienne (husband James and three children ages 8, 7 and 5); and her younger brother Patrick and his wife Bri with (one child who is 5 years old and they have one on the way).
Emily and her family members either live in Plain Township or in Louisville. All of the family, including Emily’s husband and her parents, are alumni of GlenOak High School.
Emily along with her sister Adrienne run the day-to-day operations. She said the boys do the maintenance and her mother is their babysitter.
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"We have different roles, but all contribute in the success of the Cone. My brother Patrick and I grew up working here in high school and we knew the daily operations," Emily said.
Country Cones first opened in 1988. The second owner purchased it in 2002. The Williams family bought it in 2014.
Country Cones opens March 17 every year and closes in late September/early October. Hours vary each week depending on staffing, as it employs all high school and college students.
"We sold over 56,000 cones last year!" Emily said. "We are very well known for our coneys which we sold 16,000 last year and our jumbo ice cream cookie sandwiches sold over 2,500 last year. Our most popular flavor of ice creams is chocolate peanut butter cup."
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Why do you think Country Cones has been such a staple here in Stark County?
I think it is a staple here in Stark County because it has been around since 1988.
We have always been known for our reasonable prices and generous portions. We are a family friendly environment with a good amount of outdoor seating. People come from all over for our coney sauce, drumstick (aka The Country Cone), and jumbo cookie sandwiches.
Which age group seems to be the biggest customers every year and why do you think that is?
I would say middle-aged parents with kids is our biggest group of customers. However, the older generation usually comes during the day while young families stop by in the evening.
Kids love ice cream and since we have food a lot of parents enjoy getting dinner and dessert at the same place. We also get a lot of the ball teams stop by during the season.
Who created the coney sauce you use on the “Best Coney in Stark County”?
This is a recipe that has been handed down from the previous owner, Ron Upperman. I believe he continued it from the first owner as well, John Walters. It is well loved and we will never change it.
Visiting Country Cones is often a family outing. What do you and your family enjoy participating in together?
In the summer, we like to get together and go swimming, boating and cook out at Adrienne and Jim’s house. My brother and parents have mini farms so chores around there are always happening.
What do you do in the off-season when Country Cones is closed?
We continue to run our insurance agency that is a couple buildings down the road from Country Cones. We usually take a large family trip after we close as we cannot do so during the summer months.
We also spend a little more time with our kids.
Editor's note: Five questions with ... is a Sunday feature that showcases a member of the Stark County community. If you'd like to recommend someone to participate, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Emily Miller of Country Cones answers five questions about her job
