Controversial custard shop smoothing it over with College Hill with new dessert festival
Andy’s Frozen Custard might have gotten off on the wrong foot with its College Hill neighbors.
But now, the new frozen custard shop — which is set to open on June 14 in the former Dempsey’s Biscuit Co. spot at 3425 E. Douglas — is attempting to smooth things over with the creation of a dessert event that’s intended to benefit all of the many sweets-dealing businesses in the area.
The new Douglas Dessert Festival is scheduled for June 11-13 — the weekend before the new Andy’s opens. It’ll allow customers to visit six different dessert businesses in the area and get samples of or discounts on sweet treats at each.
Andy’s will participate from a pop-out tent set up in front of its about-to-open store. The other stores taking part are Papa’s General Store, The No Bake Cafe and The Teahouse at Clifton Square across the street from Andy’s; College Hill Deli, which is right next door; and Himali Eats, a dumpling restaurant a few blocks to Andy’s west.
Back in late February, when Andy’s franchisee Brian Cates first announced his plans to open an Andy’s in the College Hill neighborhood, some neighbors were not pleased with the idea of a corporate-owned custard shop moving into the eclectic area full of locally owned shops. Some even drafted and circulated a petition demanding that the purveyor of “corporate cones” stay out of the area.
It was around that time that Papa’s General Store owner Derek Sorrells reached out to Cates to express his own concerns, he said. Sorrels opened his nearby shop, which specializes in ice cream, shakes and other desserts, in the spring of 2020.
The two ended up meeting, Sorrells said, and they had a productive, two-hour conversation. Sorrels said he left the meeting feeling like the two dessert shops could work together, and they began hatching plans for an event that would benefit all the businesses in the area.
“As a group, we kind of came to the conclusion that we can all succeed together because we all do things that are different,” Sorrells said. “And so instead of making it ‘us against them,’ let’s do something that brings attention to Clifton Square and College Hill and lets everyone in the city know that this is the best place to get your desserts.”
Noticeably missing from the list of participants in the new festival is Frost, the dessert shop focusing on homemade ice cream that’s right next door to the new Andy’s. It just opened in November.
Owner Jada Shiya said her shop wasn’t participating in the dessert festival but only because it has several other prior commitments it needs to focus on.
“We love our community and the other dessert shops and hope they all do really well and that this brings business to the area,” she said.
Erin Bartel of Elite Media, who handles marketing for the new Andy’s, said people won’t have to pay admission or get any special ticket to take part in the festival. They’ll just need to visit the participating shops over the course of the weekend to get the deals.
She said she’ll be providing details as the weekend draws closer on the Douglas Dessert Festival Facebook page and Instagram account.
Though Cates is aware that some neighbors are disgruntled about Andy’s presence and that his opening day could stir the controversy up again, Bartel said, the store has also received many supportive messages via social media.
“A lot of the criticism we were seeing was, ‘There’s too much dessert. There’s too much dessert,’” she said.
“And what they wanted to say was, ‘There’s not too much dessert. Why would that be a bad thing? There’s something for everyone.’”
This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 1:07 PM.
.jpg)