Frozen custard fetish turns into Reno shop

Judy Hartman likes frozen custard enough that she used to drive 30 minutes one way to get a fix.

Her husband, meanwhile, is curious whether the model of coffeehouses a place where people choose to linger with the products they just purchased can be extended to the frozen confectionary business.

If Bill Hartman is right, the Bec's Frozen Custard store that just opened at 670 Mount Rose St.

near downtown Reno may serve as the springboard for a chain of frozen custard shops.

The Hartmans didn't scrimp in opening the 1,200-square-foot shop, which took over the space vacated by Great Harvest Bread Co.

when it moved to Plumgate.

The walls have been stripped back to the original brick.

Signage is suspended from custom-made metal frames.

Rather than the plastic seating bolted to the floor of most ice cream shops, Bec's is furnished with expensive metal tables and chairs.

Before long, patio seating will be available.

"It's an expensive statement we're making," Bill Hartman acknowledged the other day.

But it's a statement that will pay dividends if the Bec's concept catches on.

The store is largely the brainchild of Judy Hartman, who got hooked on frozen custard in Las Vegas, where her husband was overseeing the statewide accounting practice of Deloitte and Touche.

After their return to Reno, and in anticipation of her husband's retirement from the CPA firm, Judy Hartman began scouting locations for a custard shop of her own.

"The hardest part was finding a location," she said.

"We wanted one that was in a neighborhood with high density, with people walking and biking.We wanted to be part of a neighborhood."

The location on Mount Rose between Plumas and Arlington fits that bill.

At the same time, the Hartmans were visiting with vendors and attending trade shows to learn everything they could about the business.

They needed, for example, to select the precise flavor of vanilla custard their shop would serve, choosing from a half dozen possibilities.

They invested in a full point-of-sale system at the front counter.

As they heard about the problems with portion control faced by many ice cream shops, the Hartmans decided to sell their frozen custard by the ounce.

Employees simply ask, "How big do you want it?" and charge the customer accordingly.

The name of the shop, Bec's, comes from the name of their daughter, Rebecca.

A son who is a CPA, Greg Hartman, also is involved in operation of the business.

Judy Hartman plans very focused marketing to attract the neighborhood trade that will be the core of the shop's business.

That means, for instance, that Bec's will rely on flyers more than newspaper advertising, on tasting sessions for neighborhood groups more than television spots.

The tastings, she said, will be particularly important because frozen custard remains relatively unknown in much of the West.

Frozen custard is a gourmet ice cream with at least 10 percent butterfat.

Typically, it's made fresh daily and served at 18 degrees nearly 30 degrees warmer than most ice creams.

For Bill Hartman, who spent 32 years with Deloitte and Touche, a start-up ice cream shop isn't that far afield.

His work with the CPA firm, after all, found him starting up the firm's practice in Reno in 1985 before he became manager of the firm's statewide practice in 1990.

The biggest difference? The name of Deloitte and Touche is well-known, while nobody recognizes a start-up.

He stepped down from the CPA firm a month ago.

"I'm supporting Judy in this endeavor, but this is hers," he said.

His plans include greater involvement in TEC The Executive Committee organization of chief executive officers as well work with companies on corporate governance questions.