The original BYU Creamery, located on Ninth East in Provo, closed on Dec. 2 after serving millions of happy customers for 25 years.
The original building on Ninth East opened Aug. 24, 2000, and was the first full-service grocery store on any college campus in the United States. The building that remains will be demolished to create more parking lots for the new BYU Creamery on Ninth, which opened Dec. 4.
Before it became the Creamery on Ninth, Kent’s Market (also known as Carson's Market) operated on that location for 59 years before closing its doors in 1999. The widow of the owner bequeathed the building to BYU, which renovated it and turned it into the flagship Creamery on Ninth.
On July 15, 2024, BYU announced its plans to construct the new Creamery on Ninth. The announcement stated, "The new store will feature over a 70% increase in retail space, allowing critical updates so the store can meet the evolving needs of the campus community.”
Visited by more than 1.3 million guests, the building has served the needs of BYU students and the community at large.
“It's been nice for us to come and do our grocery shopping here, and we've enjoyed doing date nights, getting dinner at the diner and ice cream. It’s been a lot of fun,” said Kaylie Palmer, a BYU student studying experience design and management, as she was shopping with her husband, Joel.
Stephanie Rytting, who attended BYU from 2006-2010, has many great memories inside the old building.
“I have like a bajillion great memories of coming here for ice cream, getting groceries,” she said.
Whenever she and her family visit Utah, they make a pilgrimage for the ice cream and cookies-and-cream milk.
Her husband, Matthew, said the place is nostalgic, and he has always enjoyed the food and ice cream.
“I think just getting a good hamburger and the red cream soda,” Matthew Rytting said. “Red cream soda is a good memory here, and the cookies-and-cream (chocolate milk).”
Their daughter, Nataile Rytting, said she has memories of going there as a little kid and always getting the Graham Canyon ice cream, which remains her favorite to this day.
Ella Cordon, a BYU Creamery on Ninth employee, said she loves the new building.
However, she said she will miss how small the old building is, and how convenient it was to find people.
“It was pretty simple to look around the store, so with the bigger one, there are so many different places people can be,” Cordon said.
Despite this, she said she will not be sad when the building is torn down.
“I like the new building a lot more than this one, and it's going to be good parking when it gets torn down,” Cordon said.
Regardless, when the old Creamery building is torn down, the rubble will leave behind a legacy of memories.
“This was just a pretty formative part of my freshman year experience, but college overall. It's a big part of my college experience, so lots of happy memories,” Stephanie Rytting said.