Andy's Frozen Custard, St. Louis: The Drive-Thru Dessert That Locals Live By

Hi, I'm Ino.

After three consecutive barbecue stops in St. Louis — Bogart's, Pappy's, and Sugarfire — the only logical next move was something cold and sweet. I had already visited Ted Drewes, the Route 66 institution that St. Louis puts on every visitor's must-do list. But on the last afternoon, I found myself driving past an Andy's Frozen Custard — another Missouri name, a different kind of place — and pulled into the drive-thru without much deliberation.

It turned out to be one of the more satisfying decisions of the trip.

An Oreo Concrete from Andy's — Oreo pieces blended throughout frozen custard, with the signature yellow spoon. Dense, cold, and gone faster than expected.

What Is Frozen Custard — And How Is It Different from Ice Cream?

If you're visiting the United States from outside North America, you may encounter "frozen custard" on menus and wonder how it differs from regular ice cream. The answer comes down to two things: eggs and air.

Standard ice cream is made from cream, milk, and sugar — no eggs. During production, machines churn the mixture rapidly while freezing it, incorporating a significant amount of air into the product. That air is what gives ice cream its light, scoopable texture. By U.S. federal standards, ice cream can contain up to 50% air by volume, which is why a half-gallon carton of ice cream can feel surprisingly light.

Frozen custard, by U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards, must contain at least 1.4% egg yolk by weight in addition to the standard cream and sugar. The egg yolks add richness, a deeper flavor, and a silkier mouthfeel. More importantly, frozen custard is churned much more slowly than ice cream, incorporating very little air. The result is a dessert that is noticeably denser, heavier, and more intensely flavored than ice cream — a smaller portion delivers considerably more satisfaction. If regular ice cream is a foam mattress, frozen custard is memory foam. Same general category, entirely different density and experience.

Frozen custard has a specific American geography. The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is widely known as the "Frozen Custard Capital of the World" — custard stands have been a fixture there since the 1930s, and the city consumes more frozen custard per capita than anywhere else on earth. The treat is thought to have first appeared commercially at Coney Island amusement park in New York City in 1919. From there it spread inland, taking particular hold in the Midwest. Missouri, where Andy's was born, sits squarely in that tradition.

The Andy's sign — bright, retro, and unmistakably American. The chrome detailing along the roofline is a deliberate nod to the drive-in diner aesthetic of the 1950s.

The Andy's Story: From a Missouri Lake Town to 170 Locations

Andy's Frozen Custard was founded on March 19, 1986, by John and Carol Kuntz in Osage Beach, Missouri — a resort town on the Lake of the Ozarks, about two hours southwest of St. Louis. The Kuntzes had tasted frozen custard during a trip to Wisconsin and been captivated by it. Rather than simply attempting to replicate what they'd eaten, they sought out the person who could teach them properly: Leon Schneider, owner of Leon's Frozen Custard in Milwaukee, a shop that had been operating since 1942 and was regarded as one of the most influential custard establishments in the country. Schneider was known for generously training other operators, even competitors. The Kuntzes learned their recipes and techniques directly from him before returning to Missouri to open their own shop.

They named it after their son Andy. The original Osage Beach location became a local institution quickly — a custard stand by a popular lake in the middle of hot Missouri summers is not a difficult sell. The operation expanded to Springfield, Missouri, where Andy and his wife Dana took over management and began learning the business from the ground up. Andy Kuntz serves as CEO today, and the company remains entirely family-owned with no outside investors.

Andy's is now the largest frozen custard-only chain in the United States, with more than 170 locations across 15 states. The growth accelerated significantly after 2015, when the company signed its largest franchise agreement at the time and began expanding aggressively into the Sun Belt states. Despite the scale, the product philosophy hasn't changed: custard made fresh every hour, using non-rBST milk, real eggs, and vanilla, served immediately to preserve its texture.

Good to know: Andy's operates year-round, typically from 11 AM to 11 PM daily. Unlike many seasonal custard stands that close in winter, Andy's heats its patios and operates through all weather. This consistency is part of what distinguishes it from older-style custard stands that operate only in summer months.

What Is a Concrete — And Why St. Louis Invented It

The signature item at Andy's — and at most St. Louis-area custard shops — is the Concrete. The name is exactly what it suggests: a frozen custard so thick and dense that it can be turned upside down without spilling. A Concrete is made by taking frozen custard and machine-blending mix-ins directly into it — crushed cookies, candy pieces, roasted nuts, fresh fruit, caramel, hot fudge — until the additions are distributed throughout the custard rather than simply sitting on top.

The Concrete was invented in St. Louis. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, the Route 66 landmark on Chippewa Street, is credited with creating and popularizing the format in the 1950s. The name came from customers who would joke that the custard was so thick it must be made of concrete — and the term stuck. From St. Louis, the Concrete concept spread to custard shops across the Midwest and eventually nationwide. When Andy's was founded in 1986, the Concrete was already the established language of Midwestern custard, and Andy's adopted and expanded it into one of the most elaborate Concrete menus in the country.

The Menu: Everything on the Board

The drive-thru menu board at Andy's is large and takes time to read properly, which is part of the experience. The Concrete options alone fill most of one panel. The BootDaddy — vanilla custard blended with Oreo cookies, crème caramel, and hot fudge — is consistently cited as one of the top sellers. The Nutty Waffle Crunch blends in waffle cone pieces, roasted pecans, and melted chocolate chips. The Texas 2-Step combines strawberries and hot fudge. The Jackhammer is a special format where a liquid center — hot fudge or caramel — is hidden inside the Concrete, so the first few bites are pure custard before you hit the warm liquid core.

Beyond Concretes, the menu includes sundaes, banana splits, shakes, malts, waffle cones and cups, floats, and old-fashioned sodas made with Sprecher Keg Soda — a craft root beer brewed in Milwaukee, which brings the Wisconsin connection full circle. Seasonal items rotate through the year: strawberry shortcake and blueberry in spring, peaches and key lime pie in summer, pumpkin pie in autumn. A "Pick 6" option lets you choose any six Concretes in half-pint cups — useful for groups or for anyone who wants to try multiple flavors without committing to a full portion of each.

The drive-thru menu board — Concretes, sundaes, shakes, seasonal items, and the Jackhammer with its hidden hot fudge center. Spend time reading it before you reach the window.

What I Ordered: Oreo Concrete and Pecan Butterscotch

I ordered two Concretes through the drive-thru: an Oreo Concrete and a Butter Pecan. Both arrived in clear plastic cups with Andy's signature yellow spoon — a small but distinctive detail that appears on every single order, regardless of size or variety.

The Oreo Concrete was exactly what a well-executed Concrete should be. The Oreo pieces had been blended throughout the custard rather than scattered on top, so every spoonful contained cookie — some in larger fragments, some broken down almost to a fine crumb that darkened the custard and gave it a cookies-and-cream flavor that ran all the way to the bottom of the cup. The custard base was noticeably richer than ice cream: heavier on the tongue, with the egg yolk adding a depth of flavor that soft-serve or standard ice cream doesn't deliver. It was sweet, but not in the aggressive way that desserts at lower-end chains often are. The sweetness was rounded, almost savory at the edges, with the bitterness of the Oreo providing balance.

The Butter Pecan was the subtler of the two — roasted pecans blended throughout a butterscotch custard, the nuts providing texture and a nutty richness that cut through the sweetness without overwhelming it. It's the kind of flavor combination that tastes restrained and grown-up alongside something like the BootDaddy or Triple Chocolate, but rewards attention.

Both melted faster than I expected. Frozen custard, made fresh and served immediately without the stabilizers and preservatives common in commercial ice cream, begins to soften quickly at room temperature. Eating in the car with the windows down on a warm afternoon meant working through the cups efficiently. A napkin grabbed at the window was not sufficient preparation.

The Oreo Concrete up close — Oreo pieces distributed throughout, not scattered on top. The yellow spoon is standard at Andy's, regardless of what you order.

Andy's vs Ted Drewes: Two Different Things

Having visited both within the same trip, the comparison is natural but a little unfair to both places, because they occupy different roles in the St. Louis custard landscape. Ted Drewes is a landmark — a specific building on a specific stretch of Route 66 that has been in continuous operation since 1930, with a history tied to American road culture and a line that forms outside regardless of weather. It's a destination in itself, and part of what you're purchasing there is the experience of standing in that line and eating on that sidewalk. The custard is excellent; the context makes it more.

Andy's is something else. It's a drive-thru on a commercial strip, built for convenience and repeatability. The custard is made fresh hourly, the menu is extensive, the yellow spoon arrives every time, and the whole interaction takes about four minutes from pulling in to driving away with two cups. It's the kind of place locals stop at after a weeknight errand or a summer evening, not because it's a destination but because it's simply part of the routine. Watching other cars idle in the line around me, most of the drivers clearly regulars who ordered without consulting the menu board, I understood exactly what it was: not a landmark, but a habit. A good one.

Tip: Download the FANdy's app before your first visit. New members receive a free Concrete after their first purchase. The app also runs a Tuesday promotion offering a free iced tea with any purchase of $5 or more — a small detail, but worth knowing if you're planning to visit on a Tuesday. Points accumulate toward future free treats with every dollar spent.

Ino's Tips for Andy's Frozen Custard

Eat immediately. Andy's custard is made fresh every hour without preservatives or stabilizers, which is what makes it taste as good as it does — and also means it softens faster than commercial ice cream. If you're eating in a car on a warm day, open the cup as soon as you receive it and start eating. Grabbing extra napkins at the window is not optional; it is preparation.

Read the menu board before you reach the window. The drive-thru menu is large and detailed, with dozens of Concrete combinations, seasonal items, and specialty formats like the Jackhammer. If you arrive at the window undecided, the line behind you will not appreciate the deliberation. Pull up early enough to read the full board and decide before you're face-to-face with the speaker.

Start with BootDaddy or Butter Pecan if you're unsure. The BootDaddy — vanilla custard with Oreo, crème caramel, and hot fudge — is the most popular item and a reliable first order. The Butter Pecan is the best choice if you want something less sweet and more nuanced. Both represent the range of what Andy's does well.

Try the Jackhammer if you want a surprise. It looks like a standard Concrete from the outside, but contains a liquid hot fudge or caramel center that you don't hit until several spoonfuls in. It's the most theatrical item on the menu, and one of the few desserts that genuinely delivers something unexpected.

Check for seasonal specials. Andy's rotates seasonal flavors throughout the year: strawberry shortcake and blueberry in spring, peaches and key lime pie in summer, pumpkin pie in fall. Whatever season you're visiting, there will likely be at least one limited item worth ordering that won't be available on your next trip.

The Sweetest End to a St. Louis Afternoon

Three barbecue restaurants in two days, a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi, the Gateway Arch from below and from the water, Busch Stadium at dusk — and then a drive-thru custard stop to close it out. St. Louis had been, from the first meal to the last spoonful in the parking lot, a city that takes eating seriously without taking itself too seriously. Andy's fit that perfectly: a no-fuss, locally-rooted, genuinely excellent product, handed through a car window in under five minutes, eaten with a yellow plastic spoon while watching the Missouri sky go orange.

If you're in St. Louis and you've already been to Ted Drewes, go to Andy's too. They're different enough that the comparison is interesting rather than redundant. And if you haven't been to either, start with Ted Drewes for the history — then come to Andy's for the drive-thru at the end of a long day, when all you want is something cold and good and quick.

Butter Pecan Concrete — roasted pecans throughout a butterscotch custard base, dome lid sealed tight, eaten in the parking lot while the afternoon wound down.