The Shadow
Fran Burton, owner/operator of Ray’s Sweet Shoppe and Poutinerie, has announced an anticipated opening date of tomorrow, August 11; an exciting revelation for Covington residents who may have noticed the recent foot traffic at 352 W. Main Street.
The Virginian Review was able to sit down and interview Burton on Saturday, August 5, inside her 50’s-inspired ice-cream shop and poutinerie to find out more about the new establishment that sits across the street from Jay’s Trading Post.
“The food is actually called poutine (pronounced poo-teen),” Burton said when asked what a poutinerie (pronounced poo-teen-uh-ree) was. “The base is French fries, and then brown gravy, and Wisconsin cheese curds… The gravy has a little bit of pepper, some seasonings in it. And then, you work off of that. You can have a pork one, you can have chicken bacon ranch on it; we’re doing all sorts of different varieties of the poutine.” Burton was first introduced to poutine when her son lived in Canada. During a visit, she sampled the tasty dish from various poutineries and fell in love with it.
Ray’s Sweet Shoppe and Poutinerie, named affectionally after Burton’s late father, will not just serve poutine, however. The establishment will also be offering sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, salads, fried pickles, hot dogs, a dish called “Bigfoot’s Picnic,” and pretzels with cheese, though it could take some time to build the menu.
The new business will also serve a variety of ice cream flavors, banana splits, malts, egg cream, shakes, root beer floats, sherbet, sundaes, flavored soda, etc., akin to a 50’s-style ice cream parlor. Customers can also purchase candy, jewelry, Funko Pops, and even clothing for small children in the multi-purpose business. Burton secured hand-held scanners for her servers, which will enable them to scan items right at the table if a patron wishes to get up and shop before, during, or after their meal.
Ray’s Sweet Shoppe and Poutinerie has an excellent staff already. As previously mentioned, it will be run by Fran Burton, who is also a nurse; her husband, Greg Burton, a volunteer firefighter for the city of Covington; Fran’s son, Brian Carrillo who will not only be the kitchen manager, but who initially came up with the idea for a local poutinerie; and Ally Burton, a kindergarten teacher who will run the ice cream bar. Burton is currently looking to hire a server, ice cream bar attendant, and cook, for those interested in working at a very special mom-and-pop shop.
The ice cream shop/poutinerie will be open every day from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. every day except for Tuesday when they will be closed. Ms. Burton talked about potentially opening the restaurant for breakfast at some point, but if that happens, it will be much further down the line. The cheerful store owner is hopeful that tomorrow will be their opening day, though it is possible that could change. As the Virginian Review learns more information, we will be sure to keep readers posted.
