Rochester icon Abbott’s to celebrate a century of dishing up memories in Charlotte

You wait in line outside the Abbott’s Frozen Custard stand on Lake Avenue, a gentle breeze blowing in from Lake Ontario, and the anticipation grows.

You’re just a few steps from the delectable treat that is Abbott’s, a one-of-kind culinary delight that has been at the heart of trips to Charlotte Beach for a century.

“I love when people tell me their favorite place in Rochester is 10^th in line at Abbott’s on Lake Avenue,” said Brenden Drew, vice president of business development for the firm.

That old, oft-remodeled Lake Ave. landmark is more than just the home to one of Rochester’s most famous family owned businesses, though. It’s a destination, a place where memories are created and last an eternity.

“I met this couple in South Carolina (at a franchise opening) and they were 80-plus years old,” Drew said. “They told me, ‘Our first date was at the Charlotte pier. We went to Abbott’s and got our cones and walked the Charlotte pier as teenagers. This taste brings back that moment.’

“That happens so often when I’m at the opening of a new Abbott’s.”

Which is why ensuring every taste of a cone, dish or frozen custard cake, be it today or 10 years from now, will evoke those memories is the ultimate goal.

That stand at 4791 Lake Ave. is the very building where Arthur Abbott first set up shop in Rochester. It wasn’t the first Abbott’s; that was at Playland at Rye Beach in 1902, but it’s now one of the most visited Monroe County locations for generations of Rochesterians.

The company will celebrate the 100th anniversary at the Lake Avenue location throughout the afternoon and evening on July 17.

A lot of the history is tied to the bond between taste and memories, Drew said. That is why safeguarding the recipe and ensuring no batch ever differs in taste is Job 1 for the crews at every Abbott’s location.

“Keep it consistent, keep it true to the brand, keep it true to the legacy of Arthur,” Drew said. “In our world, we try to focus so much on maintaining the consistency of the product. ‘Do one thing and do it well’ is our mantra around here.

“This is a secret family recipe that has been around for generations and it’s what makes Abbott’s, Abbott’s. It’s our lifeblood. It’s all about a memory and a feeling.”

Because of that dedication to quality, they recently received the ultimate compliment. Out of the blue, an e-mail was sent to the company inbox by Cavan Carr, the great-grandson of Arthur Abbott. A few days later, Carr and Drew were speaking by phone.

Carr and his family had recently moved to Merritt Island, Florida, “and we were astounded and thrilled to find an Abbott’s Frozen Custard a half-mile from our house,” he told Drew.

“The minute my father and I saw Abbott’s, we stopped the car and went right in the building and after trying Abbott’s Frozen Custard for the first time in decades and he goes, ‘Oh, my gosh, it tastes just like I remember.’

“That made my month,” Drew said.

Drew didn’t share the recipe with Carr, though. The details of what goes into the product are a lot like the KFC 11-herbs-and-spices recipe.

“There are four people in the world who know the recipe for Abbott’s and it’s under lock and key,” Drew said. “We have a digital version of it, but the digital version is a PDF, a scanned piece of paper that was originally typed on a typewriter. And there was a hand-written version before that, and that’s really it.

“We don’t change the recipe. We’ve had relationships with our ingredient manufacturers for decades. Everything is very specific in how we make our product.”

Including the care for the animals that produce the milk.

“People tell me I love our cows too much; it’s impossible,” Drew said. “Our cows are like part of our family. There’s no RBGHs, RBSTs or steroids fed to our cows.

“Yes, it’s a secret family recipe, but it’s just also important to know that the ingredients it’s based upon are very pure, are very natural, are just what you’d want them to be.”

Customers don’t ask about cows, though. They do, however, want to know the difference between ice cream and frozen custard.

If you ask the Food and Drug Administration, frozen custard must have a butterfat content of 10.2 percent or more and include egg yolks.

But Drew said one thing you’ll never find on an Abbott’s nutritional label is “overrun.”

“Overrun speaks to the amount of air that is in a product,” he said, “and the only way I can explain this is that if you pick up a pint of Abbott’s and then pick up a pint of any other generic ice cream out there, you’re going to feel that the amount of air in the generic ice cream is much greater than what’s inside a pint of Abbott’s.

“We do not put all the air into our product, so you end up with a much denser, richer, creamier product.”

Drew’s family has owned Abbott’s since 1957, when his grandparents, Leonard and Thelma Schreiber of Brighton bought the franchise. Abbott had sold in 1956 to another party, which in turn sold to the Schreibers not long after.

His mother, Gail, remains the company chair and an owner, along with Drew and his sister, Charlotte.

There are about 40 locations. The majority are across Greater Rochester but they also have stores in a variety of states, including Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. Each requires a staffing roster of around 15 employees.

“In the spring, we’ll have maybe eight or nine,” Drew said. “At the peak of summer when every kid is out of high school or college, we might run up into the 20s. Our Lake Avenue location we’d have close to 60 kids on the staff roster. Every location is different depending on timing and seasonality.”

They’ve served a lot of frozen custard over the past century, that’s for sure. Especially on Lake Avenue.

“To find something that has been in the same building for 100 years doesn’t happen that often,” Drew said. “We’ve been asked, ‘Have you ever thought about selling donuts or coffee or cookies?’ and it’s always no, we do one thing and we do it well.

“That building has provided a gathering spot for the community while serving them a phenomenal frozen custard for 100 years.”

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