A Missouri-based custard joint is planning to open its first ever Atlanta area location early next year in Alpharetta. Andy's Frozen Custard is coming to 11700 Cotton Creek Entry, just off Old Milton Parkway, about two miles from Avalon.
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| A typical Andy's Frozen Custard |
Andy's will occupy a 1,385 square foot building on one side of a 1.2 acre site with a Valvoline Instant Oil Change slated to occupy a 1,886 square foot space on the other side. The parcel was most recently home to a QuikTrip built in 1997 but has sat vacant since the convenience store and fuel station relocated to 3190 Old Milton Parkway in April 2014.
Launched in Missouri in 1986, Andy’s Frozen Custard is a quick service frozen custard business. Andy's locations are typically freestanding with drive through and walk-up service windows. The restaurants are able to fit on small parcels as they have no interior seating and exclusively sell frozen custard.
In 2009, readers of 417 Magazine, a publication in Andy's hometown of Springfield, voted Andy's as the best thing about area code 417. Today, Andy's operates nearly 70 locations in eleven states.
Frozen custard and ice cream are similar in terms of their preparation and ingredients [milk, cream and sugar] but frozen custard also contain 1.4% pasteurized egg yolk (per the Food and Drug Administration). Making frozen custard is also a slower labor-intensive process that is careful to minimize the amount of air blended into the mix, whereas there is a purposeful inclusion of air in ice cream.
Andy's is similar to Granville, Ohio-based Whit's Frozen Custard, with an emphasis on frozen custard and little else. Whit's operates in eight markets but has no presence in Georgia. Sheridan's, another frozen custard chain, once had a location in Tucker in place of a former Donatos pizza, but it has been closed since late 2012 and has no other Atlanta area locations.
Wichita, Kansas-based Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Prairie du Sac-based Culver's both offer custard on their respective menus but are also traditional restaurants with a full menu of assorted entrees, sides and drinks. Freddy's and Culver's have both opened new locations across Georgia in recent years but neither company has a location in Alpharetta...yet.
Are you excited for the opening of Andy's Frozen Custard in Alpharetta? Have you ever been to an Andy's Frozen Custard? If given the choice of frozen custard, frozen yogurt or ice cream, which do you prefer and from what company?
Please share your thoughts below.