Nearly one year ago, on April 11, 2025, Withycombe Hall reopened after multiple years of renovations, bringing back a once beloved feature: Beaver Classic Creamery.

Before its reopening last year, Beaver Classic Creamery operated in Withycombe from the building’s opening in 1952 until the mid-60s, when the space was turned into a theater.

Since 2019, Beaver Classic has operated out of a food truck, serving ice cream and cheese that was prepared in the Off The Quad kitchen.

The milk used to manufacture the cheese sold at the creamery comes from Oregon State University’s own cows, while the ice cream is made from a base supplied by Lockmead, a dairy company based in Oregon. The ice cream flavors are all developed by OSU students.

“(Lockmead) creates the base for us because we didn’t have a place to pasteurize milk before (the construction),” said Gabriela Jones Rivera, a food science major and the Beaver Classic Creamery student assistant manager. “We’re still using their base even with the new construction until we have the time to create our own with the milk from our cows.”

According to the Department of Food Science and Technology’s website, the mission with the Beaver Classic brand is to “provide students with real-world agribusiness experience while sharing high-quality, locally crafted products with Beaver Nation.”

For students like Jones Rivera and her fellow assistant manager, Sohma Cox, the creamery has succeeded at that mission.

“We’re the food science department, so a lot of the students who work in the production plant are food science majors, and so they’re getting industry experience before they go out,” said David Ryusaki, Beaver Classic retail manager.

While the creamery was pretty popular when it first opened, foot traffic has slowed with the cooler weather.

“I think we’ve been struggling with awareness on campus,” Ryusaki said.

As a way to boost sales, they have done some collaborations with campus groups, including a parent social during Launch for incoming students last summer.

Despite the decrease in new-comers, the creamery still has some loyal customers.

“One of my favorite parts is seeing the same face over and over and over again,” Jones Rivera said. “There’s one guy that comes in. He came in for the first time when he failed one of his tests, and so I always ask him how that class is going. And it’s never going well, but we always have a conversation, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Beaver Classic Creamery is open six days a week; more details about their hours can be found by visiting their website.