Kilwins Ice Cream - Chocolate - Fudge — Restaurant in Blowing Rock

TO ALL FAMILIES (LOCAL/OUT OF TOWN) PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU VISIT KILWINS OF BLOWING ROCK:

Let me first start off by saying... we are locals and LOVE promoting/supporting all of our local businesses/community. In fact, my husband grew up going to Kilwins of BR 25+ years ago so bringing our children here has always been such a sweet, nostalgic memory for us.

Yesterday (09/06/25) we walked over to Kilwins from the park (like we always do when in BR).

Our 6 y.o. son is on the Autism Spectrum and due to sensitivities to cold he cannot eat ice cream, however we order him whip cream & sprinkles so he is still able to feel INCLUDED on our outings. We have ordered him whip cream & sprinkles DOZENS of times AT KILWINS in BR without any issue. Willingly & GLADLY paying the full/regular price of a cup of ice cream ($6.75) so that he is able to be included.

Yesterday, we were told we could NOT order whip cream and sprinkles. When we asked the manager his reasoning as to why (when we have ordered it there many times before with no issue) his response with a straight face was: “we are a franchise, and we do not offer that product.”, “whoever gave it to you before was not supposed to.”.

We calmly went on to explain our situation as a special needs family and asked for the small accommodation and were belittled & denied again (in front of other customers). We walked out and I wanted to scream and cry. To top it all off, it was our sons 6th BIRTHDAY (we were going there to celebrate). He was so excited for our regular/routine sweet treat from Kilwins, yet today that did not happen because of a managers pride?

Shame on you sir for denying to serve a child today (on his birthday).

We weren’t asking a large request. We weren’t asking to get anything for free. We would have paid $50 for that bowl of whip cream & sprinkles. We were just a family trying to celebrate our son’s birthday, trying to make him feel INCLUDED in a world that clearly and sadly does not reciprocate/accept him.

Thankfully, our son did not understand why he was unable to get his usual order at Kilwins of Blowing Rock today. And, thankfully we live in a place where there are so many kind, FAMILY FRIENDLY local ice cream shops that WILL happily serve our special needs child/family.

As a family who serves/loves The Lord, we wish nothing but the best for this specific manager, Kilwins of BR, and “the franchise” you are so fiercely & proudly protecting and representing. We pray nothing but blessings over you, your hearts, the people you choose to employ, the training they undergo, and the way you choose to conduct business.

While the intentions of this review are not meant to bash anyone or cause harm, I do hope it reaches someone in upper management who is authorized to make changes at Kilwins so that in the future a special needs family (like us) is not humiliated while visiting your store.

I hope your hearts are softened and instead of being so worried about your franchise, power, and making a buck that you remember the community & its people that you serve.

I’m sad to be writing this. Truthfully, I don’t want to say goodbye, but this is our final farewell to a beloved staple that we have enjoyed visiting for literal DECADES.

In celebration of our son’s birthday and because we are a family who will not let this steal our JOY. I've attached some pictures of that same little boy, at Kilwins of Blowing Rock, on July 2, 2025, getting his usual order of whip cream and sprinkles. The same order he was denied today. Thankfully, these photos are how my kids will forever remember Kilwins of BR. Sadly, my husband & I will not have the same memory.

All the best, The Olson Family of Sugar Grove, NC (25 mins down the...

I'll start with the positive. The man scooping our ice cream was very pleasant and the serving size was very generous. The ice cream was so delicious; maybe the best I've ever had. However, a woman, who I assume was some type of manager/supervisor/owner because she wore a black shirt where as the rest of the staff wore light blue shirts - began yelling at everyone standing in line in front of the ice cream counter. And, not in a friendly way of just being loud enough so people could hear her. She was behaving as is she was annoyed and angry at us because we were not moving fast enough. There was a couple 2 feet away in front of me and a line in front of them. We were waiting on the man who was scooping my ice cream, and no one had started to help my husband yet. We did not know this at the time, but the same person helps everyone in a group. She was angerly yelling and annoyed, "MOVE DOWN THE LINE PLEASE. KEEP MOVING SO WE CAN HELP OTHER PEOPLE. HELLO. HELLO. MOVE DOWN!!!!!!!" Then, she said "THE PERSON HELPING YOU WILL FOLLOW YOU DOWN THE COUNTER!!!!!!" while looking at me. I asked my husband if he was able to look at the ice cream she wanted us to walk away from yet. He said yes, and as I was starting to walk the whole 2 feet to stand very close to the man in front of me, she very annoyingly said to another staff member, "Hand these menus to people so they don't stand here to look at the counter." She just kept continued to yell and look my way. Then she angrily yelled, "THE PERSON HELPING YOU WILL HELP YOUR ENTIRE GROUP. KEEP MOVING KEEP MOVING!!!!")" So, now we understood the guy who was still trying to make my cone, was the only person who was supposed to help my husband, but I literally had no room to walk any further. She was acting horrible and making comments to the staff about people not listening. I watched her the rest of the time while we waited to pay and she continued to behave this way. I don't think I've ever been yelled at in that manner to that extreme in a food service establishment in my life. However, the man who helped us with our ice cream was very friendly and attentive. I felt bad for the other staff for having to work with her. They looked embarrassed. I will never return, which is too bad because the ice cream...

GREEDY AND RUDE! DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BUSINESS. The staff do not respect the elderly. My grandma, who is 80 years old, pointed to a smaller piece of fudge because she would not be able to finish a giant piece. The guy behind the counter got visibly upset at the fact that she did not want a giant piece of fudge. He then rudely grabbed the smaller piece of fudge and gave it to her. Then my mom asked for a smaller piece as well, because the fudge slices that they have cut out are huge, and the fudge is charged by the pound, not by the slice, so it should not matter what sized piece of fudge someone purchased. The employee refused to accommodate my mom and proceeded to find the LARGEST piece of fudge for her. So disrespectful and inconsiderate, not everyone wants to buy 7 pounds of fudge for themselves. My family and I proceeded to still be very nice to the employees even though they had been blatantly rude. When we very nicely said thank you to the staff, they just looked at us, and did not respond. This was such a poor experience to have in an ice cream and fudge shop, I didn't know it was so difficult to accommodate nice customers who, if are treated well, will return and buy lots of your products. I understand that dealing with the public can not always be easy, but my family are some of the most easy going customers you could ever have. We will...