Gus’s Creamery fills void in Versailles

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VERSAILLES — Gus’s Creamery offers a selection of ice cream, coffee drinks, sandwiches, and pizza.

The plan, according to co-owner Scott Peters, was originally to put up a trailer and sell only ice cream on the same property as Gus’s, a convenience store run by local business owner Gus Barga. But when they discovered the owners were looking to sell the entire property, Peters said, he and his partners jumped at the opportunity to do something more diverse.

“We were initially thinking of putting something in town like the Sweet Treats in Covington,” Scott said. “But then I thought, we can’t just do ice cream if we’ve got that prime location.”

Peters owns the business along with his wife, Cathy Peters, and brother- and sister-in-law Brian and Tammy Collins.

“My sister-in-law has always wanted to run a coffee shop, and my brother-in-law’s always been interested in doing a little restaurant. So we sort of merged the three ideas and came up with Gus’s,” Peters said.

The convenience store – once a filling station called Versailles Oil and Gas – was referred to by everybody in town as “Gus’s,” and the new owners decided to keep the name, as well as the shop’s distinctive garage-style doors.

“We wanted to try and keep that industrial feel a little bit,” Peters said.

The shop has been open for about a month. Business hours are 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

“We spent the summer gutting it and transforming it into a restaurant,” Peters said.

The Collins family once owned a grocery store, Collins’ SuperValu, in Versailles.

“The kids in that family grew up running that store, doing catering, and so on, so it kinda just fit into the family mold.”

Peters also gave plenty of credit to the shop’s kitchen and catering manager, Kathryn Wespiser.

“She’s really our star. None of this could happen without her,” Peters said. “All the recipes are hers. She’s really doen an amazing job for us.”

The store’s menu has just expanded to include nine, 12, and 15-inch pizzas, in flavors such as Meat Lovers, Philly Cheese Steak, and German kraut and sausage. They even plan to begin delivering pizzas sometime in the next week or two.

Overall, Peters said, he feels this new shop is going to do a lot for the community.

“I think it fills a void that the community needed,” co-owner Scott Peters said. “Until now there was no place to get any fast food in Versailles.”

Robert Coliver, a Greenville man who frequents the shop, agreed.

“The coffee’s good and the pie’s good,” Coliver said. “Put that in the paper.”

The plan was originally to open a trailer selling only ice cream, but co-owner Scott Peters said his sister-in-law, Tammy Collins, had always wanted to run a coffee shop.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_1-10.jpgThe plan was originally to open a trailer selling only ice cream, but co-owner Scott Peters said his sister-in-law, Tammy Collins, had always wanted to run a coffee shop. Tony Baker | The Daily Advocate

The plan was originally to open a trailer selling only ice cream, but co-owner Scott Peters said his sister-in-law, Tammy Collins, had always wanted to run a coffee shop.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_2-6.jpgThe plan was originally to open a trailer selling only ice cream, but co-owner Scott Peters said his sister-in-law, Tammy Collins, had always wanted to run a coffee shop. Tony Baker | The Daily Advocate

Co-owner Tammy Collins and her daughter Kristen, who works at Gus’s.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_3-4.jpgCo-owner Tammy Collins and her daughter Kristen, who works at Gus’s. Tony Baker | The Daily Advocate

By Tony Baker

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