| Eateries |
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| FROZEN CUSTARD |
| The Custard Cup [gone] Shamokin Dam, PA |
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| The Custard Cup featured a giant hot dog and root beer mug on its roof. For other eateries with giant food, see my Food section. |
| Bob Jo's Frozen Custard Wyandotte, MI |
Bill Gray's & Abbott's Custard Rochester, NY |
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Bob Jo's Frozen Custard has been here since 1947. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
Bill Gray opened a hot dog stand in 1938 near Webster, NY. In 1942, Bill Gray quit his "real job" at Kodak to go into the the restaurant business full-time. He worked at several places before opening Bill Gray's in 1965 in Ontario, NY. That same year, he added this location (shown above). Inside the restaurant are great photos of the Sea Breeze Amusement Park from the 1930s. There are now ten Bill Gray's in the Rochester area. For more, see their website. Abbott's Custard, which is sold at this Bill Gray's location, is another Rochester institution. They have been making frozen custard since 1902 and have 24 locations in the area. For more, see their website. |
| Don's Original Rochester, NY |
Mountain Mist Custard Saranac Lake, NY |
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Don's Original opened in 1945. It features frozen custard, burgers, and "white hots" (pork hot dogs topped with chili sauce). Don's slogan is "Where Quality Predominates". They now have two other locations but the one shown here is the original and just next door to the Sea Breeze Amusement Park. Mountain Mist Custard has been here since the 1950s. They have another location in Lake Placid, NY. |
| Anderson's Custard Kenmore, NY |
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| Anderson's Custard was founded in New York City in 1946 when Carl Sr. and his wife started a small shop selling custard cones and lemon ice. They returned to their hometown of Buffalo and started another custard stand there. They quickly outgrew that location and opened this location in Kenmore in 1953. It is basically unchanged. In addition to frozen custard, Anderson's is famous for its roast beef sandwiches ("Beef on Weck"). There are now nine locations in the Buffalo area. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Krekel's Kustard Main St. Decatur, IL |
Krekel's Kustard Wood St. Decatur, IL |
Krekel's Custard Springfield, IL |
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| Krekel's Kustard was established in 1949. The local chain has six locations and is perhaps best known for their hamburgers. Their Mount Zion location features a cow on the roof and a Chicken Mobile. These Decatur locations spell custard with a "K" while their website spells the word the traditional way. The Main St. stand features a pole sign that reads "Krekel's Dairy Maid". The Wood St. stand might be their original location. The Springfield location has an unusual slanted roof and spells custard with a "C". For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Original Frozen Custard Lafayette, IN |
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| Original Frozen Custard started out in 1932 with an igloo shaped stand. That building is now gone. This building, at a different location in town, was built in 1949. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Jarling's Custard Cup Danville, IL |
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| Jarling's Custard Cup Champaign, IL |
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The Danville Jarling's Custard Cup opened in 1949 when it was known as Potter's Custard Cup. The building looks suspiciously similar to the Original Frozen Custard shown above but I can't find any connection between the two.
The Champaign Jarling's Custard Cup opened in 1983. The building appears more 1960s or 1970s and makes me suspect it was adapted from a previous ice cream store or restaurant. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Sycamore Drive-in Logansport, IN |
Carl's Fredericksburg, VA |
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The Sycamore Drive-in has been selling homemade frozen custard since the 1950s.
Carl's opened in 1947 and its building and neon sign remain intact. Carl's uses 1940s Electro-Freeze ice cream machines to make 120 gallon batches of frozen custard. Hank's Frozen Custard in New Brighton, PA also uses these machines. Frozen custard uses more eggs than ice cream and is smoother and softer. Carl's offers vanilla, chocolate and strawberry - and it's to die for! In 2004, it appears the sign was recently fixed up (lower photo). For more, see these websites 1 and 2. |
| Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard St. Louis, MO |
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| Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard opened its first St. Louis store in 1930. It is world-famous for its "concretes" (super thick milkshakes). This is the most famous Route 66 location which opened in 1941. There is also a smaller location in St. Louis. Ted Drewe's also sell Christmas trees during the holiday season. For more, see these websites 1, 2, and 3. |
| Andy's Frozen Custard Springfield, MO |
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| Andy's Frozen Custard first opened in 1986 in Osage Beach, MO. Obviously, they borrowed their canopy style from Leon's Frozen Custard (see below). Andy's is now expanding to AR, TX, IL, CO and other cities in MO. Andy's opened in Springfield in 1987 and added the third location in town (shown here) in 1999. Their revolving signs are topped by giant ice cream cones. For more, see their website. |
| Leon's Frozen Custard Milwaukee, WI |
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| Leon's Frozen Custard has been here since 1942. The building was remodeled in 1955. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. |
| Leon's Frozen Custard Oshkosh, WI |
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| This Leon's Frozen Custard is unrelated to the one shown above in Milwaukee. This restaurant opened in 1947. They still have car hops. The custard machines bear the Carvel logo. |
| Gilles Frozen Custard Fond du Lac, WI |
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| Gilles Frozen Custard was founded in Milwaukee in 1938. This was their second location which opened in 1950. However, the two places are independently operated now. This stand still features car hops. For more, see their website. |
| Kitt's Custard Milwaukee, WI |
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| I believe Kitt's Frozen Custard opened here in the 1950s. For more, see this website. |
| Burnett's Lighthouse Frozen Custard & Deli Gladstone, MO |
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| Burnett's Lighthouse Frozen Custard features frozen custard, concretes, as well as sandwiches and other fast food fare. There is a lighthouse built into the roof. There is an Old Burnett Heads Lighthouse in Australia but I don't know if this is a reference to that or just a coincidence. |
| Ritter's Frozen Custard Franklin, IN |
Ritter's Frozen Custard Mishawaka, IN |
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| Ritter's Frozen Custard Warsaw, IN |
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| Although these Ritter's Frozen Custard locations are not old, I'll include them anyway because of their interesting round shape. The first Ritter's was built in 1989 in Franklin and it might be the one shown above. There are other buildings just like this one in Livonia, MI and Columbus, OH. There are probably others as well since Ritter's has locations throughout the Midwest as well as CO, FL, NV, TN, and TX. There is also a look-alike building in Lima, OH that was not part of this chain. For more, see their website. |
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More Frozen Custard:
Gilles Frozen Custard (Milwaukee, WI) Kopp's Frozen Custard (Milwaukee, WI) Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard (various cities) Custard List |
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