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Howdy Homemade Ice Cream puts a twist on the typical local dessert shop by employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
The Texas native is the brainchild of founder and CEO Tom Landis, who spoke with Fox News Digital about the company and why he’s so passionate about helping others.
His first store opened in Dallas, Texas, where the 54-year-old father of two said he discovered his passion for helping people with disabilities.
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“God put it in my heart to say, ‘I’m going to give these guys a chance,'” he said.
According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, IDD is defined as a difference that is usually present at birth and affects a child’s physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development.
Landis (pictured) opened the first Howdy Homemade store in Dallas, Texas, and said the pandemic has saved him. (Tom Landis/Fox News)
These disabilities include Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and cerebral palsy.
Landis said he initially thought about opening a doughnut shop, but the challenges that come with making that type of food, like early morning work, held him back.
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But the simplicity of ice cream and the need for good customer service raised his eyebrows.
Landis said he founded the company with a mission to employ people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (Tom Landis/Fox News)
“You choose ice cream, and from there you get to something that’s pretty much dead in America – customer service. Our guys thrive there,” he said.
Landis explained that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities tend to thrive on checklists and repetitive tasks, suggesting a skill set that many customer service workers may lack.
“We train them using the checklist, and they respect the checklist enough to say, ‘Hold on a second,'” he said.
“You choose the ice cream, and from there it goes to something that’s pretty much dead in America: customer service. Our guys thrive on that.”
Landis said his employees also have the patience and generosity he says is often lacking in the service industry.
Landis said his ice cream shop struggled for about five years after Howdy Homemade started, but he began to see some light.
Howdy Homemade employees are trained to turn their disabilities into positives, such as by using checklists and repetitive learning of tasks. (Tom Landis / Fox News)
“I said, ‘God, just give me a sign, just help me out a little bit,'” he recalled.
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And then the pandemic happened.
Landis said Howdy Homemade had closed during the lockdown out of an abundance of caution for the health of its employees.
Howdy Homemade has six different flavors of ice cream and is available at select retailers. (Tom Landis/Fox News)
Landis, who was on the verge of losing her home, remembered a GoFundMe page set up by members of the community to help the business get through tough times.
Within two weeks, the effort had raised $120,000 for the company.
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Landis said the funding and media attention that came from getting the word out made a big difference.
“We had 1,100 franchise applications at one time,” he recalls.
Howdy Homemade is currently available for franchising and operates in seven cities in Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Colorado and North Carolina.
Howdy Homemade is an ice cream company that employs people with intellectual disabilities in different locations around the country. (Tom Landis/Fox News)
The brand is also sold at HEB, Tom Thumb, Albertsons and Randalls nationwide.
Ice cream flavors offered at Howdy Homemade include birthday cake, cinnamon roll, chocolate Dr. Pepper chocolate chip, Cookie Monster and strawberry milkshake.
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Landis said he is proud of Howdy Homemade.
He said he’s sticking to his original mission of proving that hiring people with disabilities is a better experience for customers.
“We want to show them the way that if they prove they’re better than other employees, they can change the business,” he said.
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