Business

A tribute to Shipman, frozen custard shop opens

Richie Burlett offers a sample of frozen custard.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 30, 2013

Richie Burlett's grandfather, Clif Shipman, had a dream.

"He was wanting to open up a coffee, sandwich and ice cream shop," Burlett said of the longtime Hendersonville entrepreneur who opened the Hasty Tasty, one of the town's first fast food restaurants, in the 1950s. "He was going to open it up and let me run it and take over the place."
Shipman died three years ago before he had a chance to. Burlett was working his way up as an environmental services supervisor for three MedWest hospitals. He was, as he put it, on the corporate ladder. But his grandfather's dream never left him.
"Some doors have opened," he said. "We said, why not? It's been his dream."
Now Cool Beans is Burlett's dream.
He's had a soft opening for a week and plans a grand opening from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday to give the public a taste of the locally roasted coffee, Joey's bagels, Chef Star sandwiches and perhaps the top offering, frozen custard, with 24 different mixings. The coffee and custard shop is at 1197 Greenville Highway.
Cool Beans offers "concretes," frozen custard with a variety of mixings. All Shook Up has peanut, bananas and caramel, the Grasshopper has chocolate custard, Andes mints, Oreos and chocolate chips, and the S'More contains marshmallows, graham crackers and fudge. Add sundaes like the Snappy Turtle and Brownie Delight, kids' treats like Dirt and Worms and you get the idea. The store also serves coffee and espresso made with beans roasted in Edneyville by Joe Lazarus at Storehouse Coffee Co.
To start out, Burlett has four employees besides himself. His wife, Christie, and sister Megan Corn, work there too.
"Right now I'm here bright and early and leaving late but that's the way it is," he said.
The shop has indoor and outdoor seating and he plans to have live music on weekends. He'll have a live band and giveaways during Saturday's grand opening.
It's not the Hasty Tasty, but one gets the feeling that the spirit of Clif Shipman lives in the friendly service and hometown ambiance of Cool Beans.