After nearly 24 years as one of the owners of Beth Marie’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream, Ken Willis wants people to know he still isn’t tired of ice cream.
“Everybody keeps asking me, ‘Are you tired of ice cream yet?’ And the answer is no,” Willis said. “Why would I be?”
Beth Marie’s was originally opened in 1998 by Beth Marie and Dr. Randy Cox on the Denton Square. Willis and business partners Bob Moses and Pat Engelbrecht purchased the store in 2003 and have since opened locations in Grapevine, Carrollton and Unicorn Lake.
Meet the owners
Willis has been in the restaurant business his whole life. Growing up, his father owned a steakhouse in Denton which inspired him to go to culinary school in Dallas.
Moses owned the building in Denton and wanted to stay involved with the company and brought in his friend Engelbrecht as an investor.
Willis was first attracted to Beth Marie’s because ice cream seemed like a fun business to be involved with, and he said it mostly has been.
“People that come in to get ice cream generally are not in a bad mood,” Willis said. “And if they are, their mood improves instantly once they get that cone in their hand. It's kind of like a miracle food.”
What’s on the menu
The store’s promise of old-fashioned goes beyond the vintage ice cream parlor decor. The ice cream is also made in a machine designed in the 1920s.
Beth Marie’s offers a rotating selection of around 190 flavors of its small batch ice cream, many of them created by Willis. While the creation of new flavors has slowed down in recent years, Willis said he still gets plenty of suggestions for new ones.
Besides cones and cups, the store also offers malts, shakes, floats and ice cream sodas.
Willis said he eats ice cream every day between batch samples, taste tests and store inspections. His favorite flavor is still the honey whiskey.
Beth Marie’s receives fresh orders of cream daily and makes all of its ice cream to order.
The local impact
The reason Beth Marie’s has stayed successful is because of its involvement in local communities, Willis said. He explained it's a form of guerrilla marketing driven by genuine care for the communities.
“It does give you some recognition, but it also lets people know that we do care,” Willis said. “We're not just there to make a profit, we are there to be helpful to the community no matter what the occasion is or what we're asked to help with.”
Willis said they get daily requests to participate in events and activities and they try to accept as many as possible.
Beth Marie’s opened its newest store on Grapevine’s main street in 2024. Willis said they have fit in well and the Grapevine community has been easy to get involved with because the people are nice and inviting.
Beth Marie’s used to have a drop in sales in the winter months but Willis said between Denton’s Halloween events and Grapevine’s Christmas Capital events they don’t have a drop anymore.
Looking ahead
Besides the four main parlors, Beth Marie’s ice cream is also sold in 15 other ice cream parlors along with 60 companies, restaurants and hotels. These locations include UNT's DATCU Stadium, Grapevine’s Hilton Garden Inn and Central Markets in Southlake and beyond.
Willis said the future of Beth Marie’s is likely increasing wholesale while personally not being at the stores as much.
“Honestly, I'm old, so I'm not expanding as fast as I would if I'd been in my 30s,” Willis said.
Still, Willis said if the right moment comes up there is the possibility of opening a fifth Beth Marie’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream store. Willis said he has ideas but no specific location in mind just yet.
