Buttermilk expands seating, adds ice cream made on-site

At a walk-up window in the heart of the Rountree neighborhood, customers can now order hand-scooped, small-batch ice cream just feet from where it was made.

Pastry chef Kyle Davis has operated Buttermilk Desserts and Pastries out of a cottage-style storefront at 1458 E. Cherry St. since April 2025 but made the ice cream at a commercial kitchen in downtown Springfield.

Davis and wife Autumn recently decided to consolidate the operations under the same 500-square-foot roof in Rountree. They also expanded the seating on their patio to accommodate a growing customer base.

“Yes, we’re a business and we would like you to buy some stuff, but we really want people to feel comfortable and be able to get a good product and it be consistent,” said Kyle Davis in an interview.

Autumn Davis added: “They can bring their friends here and know it’s going to be good every time.”

Buttermilk’s house ice cream flavors include vanilla, chocolate, buttermilk and espresso. Lemon is available in the summer, and there is a rotating fruit sorbet that is vegan.

Every two weeks, a special flavor is introduced. Recent popular options have been strawberry swirl, green tea cherry, Thai tea peanut and peanut buttermilk. Some were suggested by customers.

Kyle Davis, a pastry chef who worked at Progress and The Order, competed on the first season of Food Network’s Summer Baking Championship.

“I really love ice cream. It is fun to make, it is fun to eat, it is fun to serve,” he said.

The couple live in Rountree and love the location, just east of Team Taco LLC and across the street from Tie and Timber Beer Co.

“It’s very walkable,” he said.

The summer hours will be 2-10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. They have four part-time employees.

For the first year, Buttermilk Pastries LLC shared the tight quarters with La Mere Bakery. It just recently became the sole tenant, signing a five-year lease.

The couple declined to disclose the terms of the monthly lease, saying only that it is “really low overhead.” The Davises say they invested $20,000 to find and install equipment that was the right size.

“Our goal is to not take on any debt, and so far we have been successful in that,” said Autumn Davis. “We invested in equipment to move to the smaller location and had to buy things very specific for the space.”

The couple said operating out of one spot simplifies their life.

“We’re not running back and forth between locations. Everything being here is extremely helpful,” she said. “We can just grow this space and that is our sole focus. We want this space to be the best it can possibly be.”