Andy's Frozen Custard store in Orlando will be 'totally unique,' owner says

Springfield-based Andy's Frozen Custard will be expanding into Florida this spring, with a "totally unique" design planned for an Orlando location.

That's according to Eric Reed, co-owner of franchisee Rancher's Custard Company, which operates Andy's in Oklahoma, Texas and, soon, Florida.

Reed told the News-Leader a store opening at 5381 International Drive in Orlando in March will be the first Andy's of its kind — twice the size of the average walk-up and drive-thru stores found in Springfield.

Orlando's Andy's will be 2,700-plus square feet and will have a patio with seating underneath a roof, Reed said. People can place their orders at bank-teller-type windows along one wall.

During nice weather, the patio will be open-air. But if it gets too hot or there's a pop-up thunderstorm, he said, a retractable glass wall will come down, closing the patio off and transforming the seating area into an enclosed, air-conditioned room.

Reed said he wanted something special for the Orlando location.

"When you go to Orlando and if you've been on International Drive, everything is just at a different scale," Reed said. "We will still have all the same critical, important factors (of Andy's), just doing it on a grander scale."

A second Florida Andy's store will be opening in Sanford in April, Reed said. The address will be 4625 St. John's Parkway.

The Sanford one will have a traditional Andy's layout, similar to the one located on South Glenstone Avenue in Springfield, he said.

Reed said his company hopes to eventually bring Andy's to cities all over Florida, particularly in the Orlando and Tampa areas.

Why Florida? Reed said the average high temperature for Florida winters is a balmy 70 degrees. There's a lot less seasonality than Missouri or northern states. Orlando, which is growing rapidly, is a tourist destination, with 68 million visitors a year, he said.

Charlie Buchanan, marketing manager with Andy's corporate headquarters in downtown Springfield, said Florida will be the 11th state to join Andy's footprint, which began with one shop in Osage Beach in 1986.

The locations in Orlando and Sanford will be the 58th and 59th Andy's stores to open, Buchanan said.

In the past three years, Buchanan said, Andy's has added 34 stores, which averages out to about one new store per month.

"It's like you're on a jet and it's taking off. It's very exciting," Buchanan said. "I think we're getting more and more areas where people haven't had frozen custard before. Once you try it, there's no going back."

According to Andy's website, locations are open in Missouri, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Illinois, with plans for future locations in Florida and South Carolina.

There are six Andy's stores in Springfield.