There’s no better time for a cool snack than summer. Although it’s open year-round, Katie’s Frozen Custard serves up sweet treats that help take a little of the sizzle out of July, August and September.

Located at 602 S. Valley Mills Drive in the shadow of Baylor’s Floyd Casey Stadium, Katie’s opened in 2002. Owners Chad Jackson, Ranelle Johnson, who are brother and sister, and their parents. Jack and Joetta Jackson, decided a frozen custard stand serving gourmet ice cream was just what Waco needed.

Katie’s namesake Katie Johnson (center) samples a strawbana with her family and Katie’s owners, including mom Ranelle Johnson (from left), uncle Chad Jackson and grandparents Joette and Jack Jackson.
Photo by Rod Aydelotte

The business is named for Ranelle’s daughter, Katie Johnson. There’s a picture of her in front of the custard shop, taken when she was 2. This fall, she’ll be a sixth-grader at Robinson Junior High.

Thousands of customers have enjoyed a variety of frozen treats at Katie’s. One best-seller is the Texas Turtle, featuring caramel, hot fudge and pecans. Other favorites include a brownie hot fudge sundae, “strawbana,” and specialty Cyclones, plus many other confections.

Those looking for a pre-dessert meal can order 100 percent beef brisket hot dogs with all the fixings, other hot dogs or Frito chili pie, along with chips and soft drinks.

But it’s the smooth, creamy frozen custard that takes center stage here.

Using an old recipe with top of the line ingredients, a fresh batch of the custard is made hourly.

“A lot of places might say they serve frozen custard, but it’s not close to what we do,” Chad said. He said several local chain restaurants have explored the option of adding frozen custard, but they have all concluded they couldn’t make it work.

“It’s very labor intensive, and you can’t cut corners or the quality really declines,” Chad said. “You have to make it fresh every hour. If we didn’t do that, it would diminish the quality. You have to be very exacting with the consistency and quality. But we don’t whip air into our product like most ice cream (makers).

He said a pint of traditional ice cream weighs about half as much as a pint of frozen custard.

Katie’s brownie sundae is made with brownie fingers and vanilla frozen custard, topped with hot fudge sauce and a cherry. Price for a small serving is $4.99.
Photo by Rod Aydelotte

“It costs a little more, but it’s a much better value for your money,” he said.

Chad and his family lived in Joplin, Mo., before coming to Waco in 2002. They still have friends there who survived the recent tornado that devastated that community. Ranelle said a friend sent her a photo of her old house in Joplin, which is still standing.

Though they had no connection to Texas, Chad spent a considerable amount of time doing research about the business, and decided Texas was a prime location for a frozen custard shop.

“Frozen custard is really big in Missouri, but at that time, no one was doing it in Texas,” he said. “We could have gone anywhere, but really liked the potential here.”

He and his parents originally focused on Austin as a prime spot to open their business. But the cost of doing business in Austin was just too high, Chad said.

“We didn’t have a lot of money starting out,” he said. “We were really doing things on a wing and a prayer. Looking back, I still don’t know how we pulled it off, but we had faith and we did.”

If location is the key, Katie’s hit the jackpot.

“We were aiming for Austin but ended up here, and we’re very glad we did,” Chad said. “We’re more comfortable in a mid-sized city and it’s worked out really well for us.”

He said after the search for Austin property fizzled, the family drove through Waco. They sat at a stoplight at South Valley Mills Drive and Clay Avenue, and Chad immediately knew he found the location for Katie’s.

They also had a location in Hewitt for about five years, but Chad said many Hewitt residents told him they usually visited the South Valley Mills location instead.

“Plus, we were trying to do too much,” he said. “We finally got to the point where I asked, ‘Do we want two stores or do we want a life?’ We decided to get back to one strong location and do what we do best.”

And that’s making frozen custard.

“It’s not the easiest thing to make the custard, and it’s sometimes hard to find people who are willing to put in the effort to do it right,” he said.

One of Katie’s most popular creations, the strawbana, is made with thinly sliced bananas, chopped fresh strawberries and vanilla frozen custard. Price for regular size is $5.53.
Photo by Rod Aydelotte

Ranelle is responsible for hiring and training the employees, and her standards are so high that the business acquired a reputation as one of the toughest places in Waco to work.

“But we really value our employees and treat them with respect,” she said. “They work hard, and we’ve been blessed to have many who are willing to do what it takes to do a great job for us.”

Katie’s was a favorite treat for the personnel of Air Force One, the Secret Service and the press corps when President George W. Bush regularly visited his Western White House retreat in Crawford.

“They’d have a different caterer every day, but it got to the point where they asked us to bring frozen custard every day,” Chad said.

Ranelle said they were told that their custard was even served aboard Air Force One.

When former Fox News anchor and White House press secretary Tony Snow was weakened by cancer, one of his favorite comfort foods was Katie’s frozen custard, she said.

“He was a big Katie’s fan, so we had some flown back to Washington, D.C., just for him,” Chad said.

“And by that point, he wasn’t eating much, so it was really great that we got the opportunity to do that,” Ranelle said.

Katie’s has added several hot dishes to its menu including Frito pies (from top), bacon cheddar cheese dogs, chili cheese dogs and classic hot dogs. Prices range from $2.09 to $3.99.
Photo by Rod Aydelotte

Another local fan is Ted Nugent, the famed Motor City Madman rock star and outdoor enthusiast who has made his home in Central Texas.

So what’s the best thing about running a frozen custard shop — and what’s hardest?

“The answer is the same for both,” Chad said. “One of the neatest things we have the opportunity to do, other than serving the customers, is to have a positive impact on employees’ lives. It’s neat to have them come through here and see them grow up and learn to be more responsible.”

He attributes a lot of the business’ success to his sister.

“Ranelle is amazing with (employees),” he said. “Seeing how she works with them, and how they respond is one of the most rewarding things for me. He said the shop requires dedication, and sometimes he’s had to let people go because they weren’t willing to do what it took.

“But we’ve had a lot of them come back later, apologize and when they matured a little, they’d tell us they understood why we demanded such high standards,” Chad said.

Ranelle said a strong work ethic is crucial for Katie’s employees.

“We have some of the hardest working kids in the city here,” she said. “It makes a huge difference in their lives, and helps us offer the customers the best product.”