Local owners to take over Foo’s Fabulous Frozen Custard

By Sarah Pope

There is a transportive quality of Foo’s Fabulous Frozen Custard, a Brookside neighborhood fixture, that has very little to do with the custard itself, though it is delicious. It has something to do with the summery youthful vibe of the place, the chalkboard full of custard creations enshrined by Foo’s employees of the past and an owner who can tell you who came up with each one—and what they are doing now. Everything at Foo’s comes back to Betty Bremser, who will step down as owner of Foo’s on Sept. 2, after 31 years.

Bremser, a French language teacher at Kansas City Academy, has been simultaneously teaching while running Foo’s after taking over in 1996. The affection she has for her staff comes through when she talks about her Foo’s alum and references their creations on the chalkboard.

“I always thought this was an extension of my teaching,” she said.

Foo’s was opened in 1988 by Bremser’s brother, Joe, whose nickname ‘Foo’ was inspired by a favorite comic strip of their dad’s. Betty took over when Joe and his wife moved to North Carolina for a career opportunity.

“I thought, this will be easy, I will teach in the day and run the business after school,” she said, chuckling at her optimism. “I taught full-time awhile but now I’m a part-time teacher.”

Handing over the reins is bittersweet for Bremser. She has given hundreds of teenagers their first jobs and been right in the mix of Brookside.

“It’s good and it will be weird,” Bremser said. “I think because it’s been so long. I have been here since ’96. I’ll have to take up Mahjong.”

One wonders how many Foo’s fans breathed a sigh of relief when the announcement was made that Foo’s would pass from Bremser to locals Leah Krieger and Megan Reilly. Both Krieger and Reilly have worked for Bremser in the past. Krieger first started at Foo’s doing odd jobs in exchange for custard as an elementary school student. Reilly, who was Krieger’s roommate at K-State, worked for Bremser and her family at the now-shuttered Oak 63 restaurant, also located in Brookside.

Krieger and Reilly, both working moms, emphasize the role Bremser took in shaping them into who they are today.

“Betty knows how to create a good employee,” Reilly said. “Working for her was the best employment experience I ever had. She taught me about taste and service.”

When Reilly visited Foo’s last fall with her son Bremser, whom she named in honor of Betty’s family, she learned that Betty was unsure of her plans for the future. The lease was up for renewal but Bremser wasn’t eager to sign on for three or five more years.

“I can’t be 70 and doing this,” Bremser said.

Longtime employee Peter Edsall was expected to take over when Bremser retired, but following his death in Aug. 2024, the future was uncertain.

“When someone important passes away, you think a lot about your life,” Reilly said. “I can’t overstate what a loss Peter was to the system. How do we keep the special bond we have from Foo’s?”

For Krieger, the opportunity to carry on Bremser’s legacy felt like a calling,

“Brookside should be local and family-owned,” she said. Krieger’s custard creation, the Cookie Dough Crumble, is still on the chalkboard list—and remains one of the most popular.

“Obviously we have to be there (at Foo’s),” Krieger said during a conversation with Reilly. “Your kid is named for them and I’m the top-seller.”

Krieger and Reilly both studied human ecology as students and were struck by a theory of Urie Bronfenbrenner, who believed that a child’s development is influenced by the interaction of multiple environmental systems. They illustrated the concept by showing a child in the middle of a circle with rings rotating outward, first parents and siblings, then extended family, with rings eventually radiating out to the community. They see a responsibility for Foo’s within this framework.

“Leah and I understand the importance of the ring of community,” Reilly said. “There are the kids at Foo’s getting their ice cream and there are kids who are at Foo’s getting a paycheck. It’s important for Foo’s to be a part of that. We believe in enriching the model for the kids and their families—and to be an active part of it.”

Reilly and Krieger have no plans to make changes to the model that Bremser created. They are eager to take on the mantle of being both a neighborhood hangout and employer.

Two of Foo’s current employees are Krieger’s nephews.

For Bremser, hiring was always the easy part.

“Every kid asks me for a job,” she said. “I have people applying in March. I have never once put out a help wanted ad. I hire siblings, friends. One year I hired the entire block of kids. They all got along. It might be crazy but it worked. ”

Her approach to training is short and sweet.

“I tell them: Show up on time and do your job,” Bremser said. “It’s simple. I take it very seriously. We are setting a dial for someone to be a good employee.”