Big Dipper creamery, grill opens in Norris
Customers wait in line on Saturday evening, July 11, to get ice cream on the opening day for The Big Dipper Creamery & Grill in Norris, which is in the former location of the Chunky Monkey. (photo:April D. Lively )
That brought back to life the small white building – now repainted yellow -- along Andersonville Highway close to East Norris Road that had operated as an ice cream shop and a diner for many years.
David Rader of Maynardville, whose family previously operated a Dairy Queen, is the owner of the new business, at 139 Little Senator Circle.
It’s open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and Rader does not plan to shut down during the winter months, he said.
Featuring Hershey’s brand ice cream The Big Dipper offers “46 flavors of ice cream,” along with locally sourced Angus beef hamburgers, hot dogs, and other diner fare.
“While we don’t have any inside dining, we do have picnic tables outside, and things for people to do, such as cornhole and horseshoe games,” he said. “We intend for it to be a gathering spot for the community.”
He said Saturday that he’s also planning to put up another structure next door to house more picnic tables under a roof.
Rader said he lived near Walmart in Clinton for 10 years, until recently, and was always a fan of the Chunky Monkey, and especially its banana splits.
“We’re going to be just like the Chunky Monkey was,” he said.
He and his family are originally from Summersville, West Virginia, which is adjacent to Summersville Lake, a popular tourist destination like Norris Lake.
“We had the Dairy Queen in Summersville for a long time,” he said.
His dad, Dave Rader, who also lives in Maynardville, is helping him get The Big Dipper going.
