Rich’s Frozen Custard is slated to move from its longtime home in Festus to the building that formerly housed a Dairy Queen in Crystal City. The custard shop is scheduled to relocate sometime in the next two to three months, manager Robert La Brayere said.
“I’ll be doing a lease to purchase,” he said.
The business currently is in a small building at 390 Festus Centre Drive, and will have seven times the space when it moves to the old DQ building at 111 S. Truman Blvd., owner Rich Schuette said.
“We’re going from 400 square feet to a 2,800-square foot building,” Schuette said. “There will be inside seating.”
Schuette said he does not yet know the seating capacity for the new location. His current Festus location offers outdoor picnic tables, but no inside seating.
Schuette said he opened the Festus location in 2000 and added a second location in 2007 in Oakville.
“We’re going on 18 years in business,” he said.
With the extra space, the restaurant will be able to offer an expanded menu, La Brayere said. At present, Rich’s Custard offers a wide variety of custard treats, as well as soft drinks, coffee and other items.
He said the new menu is being developed.
“We’re going to plan on doing a food menu,” La Brayere said. “We will add to what we offer now.”
La Brayere said the business probably will hire more staff.
“Right now, we have about nine employees,” he said. “We will add more staff. At the new location, we could be anywhere around 20 to 25.”
The Dairy Queen in Crystal City closed in early December 2017.