September 6, 2021
Pastime Peanuts is in Historic Downtown Oxford and sells all types of delicious boiled, fried and roasted peanuts for your favorite snack time or game day treat!
I imagine that most people have fond memories of eating peanuts at a baseball or football game when they were a kid, but Pastime Peanuts owner, Tonikos Vandiber, decided to keep that sense of nostalgia alive for future generations.
- Tammy (TL): How and when did Pastime Peanuts begin?
- Tonikos (TV): The idea and concept of Pastime Peanuts began when I was a young child. My mom grew up in Clark County AL, about an hour away from Mobile and my granddad worked at International Paper so I would take the route with him when I stayed with him during the summertime. All these little roadside vendors would sell roasted peanuts or boiled peanuts and I always told my granddad that
whenever I got the chance I wanted to open a peanut business, so this has been in my head a long time. I grew up in Birmingham and we had a Peanut Depot in downtown Birmingham. It’s in a 100 year old building, very similar to this building and they roast and boil peanuts. I’m really good with the owner and I told him when I move to my hometown as an adult, I want a peanut shop there. - TL: Tell me about your building here in Historic Downtown Oxford.
- TV: This is a cool old building, I’ve been told that this building has been a number of things. The first thing was a doctor’s office, and I had the opportunity to meet the doctor’s grandchild and his family. She said that her great granddad used to live in the photography house next door and this was his practice. When I saw it, I had been looking for an old building in the historic area and this fit the bill perfectly. I think it’s just such a good use for an older building to keep people coming to places like this.
- TL: What kind of snacks do you sell here?
- TV: We do all kinds of peanuts, deep fried, boiled, roasted. I like to try to experiment with different flavors. I have a salt boil, a cajun boil, a pickle boil, and when it gets cold I’ll do a collard green boil. I’m always looking at adding different flavors. We do fresh roasted jumbo peanuts, cajun roasted, salt roasted. The deep fried peanuts we do in sea salt, cajun seasoning, and we have a dugout blend which is a ranch/barbecue flavor.
- TL: What are some of your best sellers?
- TV: Our boiled peanuts always do really good.
- TL: Tell me about the local events you participate in.
- TV: Whenever I get a chance I try to do as many local events as possible. I do the Market on Main here in Oxford, I do the Farmers Market in Anniston and any local football games or if anyone reaches out I’m willing to get out there.
- TL: Where can people find you in store and online?
- TV: We’re at 128 Snow Street in Historic Downtown Oxford. We’re behind Dorsey’s and on the backside of the Performing Arts Center. You can go to our Facebook or Instagram page at Pastime Peanuts or you can go to www.pastimepeanuts.com. You can also pre-order and pay online and come into the store and pick it up!
- TL: Anything else you’d like to share?
- TV: Thanks for coming out and visiting and if you’re in downtown Oxford, come by and get some Pastime Peanuts!
You can find them at 128 Snow Street in Oxford Thursday through Saturday from 11am-5pm and at their website at www.pastimepeanuts.com. They’re on Facebook @greatpeanuts and on Instagram @pastimepeanuts
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