A cool Country Cow

Amy Vargo said she's blown away by how nice the customers are in the Monroeville area. "I have not had one person yet who has been rude," insists Vargo, a resident of Lorain County. "People are so kind." Country Cow Ice Cream is in the midst of its first summer in business. The restaurant sits at the intersection of Ohio 113 and Ohio 99 outside of Monroeville. Vargo opened up Country Cow Ice Cream in late April and said things are going well. She has five employees, but hopes to add more as business grows. Her path to opening an ice cream stand was a pretty simple one — she worked at K Cream Corner in Elyria from when she was in junior high and all through high school. "Every summer I worked in an ice cream shop so I was telling my husband we should open an ice cream shop," Vargo recalls. The Vargos got a realtor and began looking at properties. From there, they ended up finding what is now Country Cow Ice Cream. "We just love the land and the area," Vargo said. "I already knew how to make everything," Vargo said, of her time working in an ice cream shop in Elyria. "I knew about scheduling, inventory. I had dealt with all of that." She also said her previous experience taught her customer service and how to treat employees. The one thing that Vargo didn't count on was road construction. Ohio 99 is shut down for bridge repairs over the Ohio Turnpike and that has drastically reduced drive-by traffic in the area. She said she came up with the name Country Cow because she loves a restaurant in Sanibel Island, Florida called The Purple Cow. She also said the business is located out in the country, so Country Cow seemed like a good name. Being a seasonal business, she said she'll probably keep the business open until sometime in October. Country Cow is open from 3-9 p.m. during the week and noon through 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Amy's husband Shawn works for Third Coast Coffee out of Elyria.