Betty Bremser has owned and operated Foo’s Fabulous Frozen Custard for nearly three decades. During that time, it has become not just an institution in Kansas City’s Brookside neighborhood, but also a popular place for local high schoolers to land their first jobs.
Now, Bremser — who also works as a French teacher at the Kansas City Academy — is stepping away from her business at the end of the month.
She told KCUR's Up To Date that her lease was up in August and she didn't want to sign another five-year lease. While she initially considered closing Foo's down, she ultimately decided to sell the shop to two former employees.
"(New owners) Megan and Leah approached me, probably in December or January, and I thought, 'Oh my goodness, this is exactly what I want to happen.' And so we we worked together to make it happen. They're working as hard as I am to get all this in place and get everything ready, and I guess it was exactly the right time and the right thing."
In Brookside, it has become a right of passage to start your working life as one of Bremser's employees.
"One of the new owners, who is a former Foo's employee, said that she thinks it's because I talk to teens like they're adults, and I've thought about that a lot since she said that, and I think she's right," Bremser said.
"I think teenagers have a lot of opinions and ideas, and they deserve to be trusted and heard, and that's just the way I operate."
Bremser's last day at Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard is set for August 31.
- Betty Bremser, owner of Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard
