Last year, I did a Last Word segment about Eddie's Footlongs, that famous establishment located between Meadville and Conneaut Lake.  After that story aired, a lot of people told me, “After you go to Eddies, you have to stop at Hank's for frozen custard.” Well, here I am.

Hank's Frozen Custard opened at this location on Conneaut Lake Road in 1952. Ryan Hild is the third generation owner. His grandparents started the business. It was his grandmother’s father that was named Hank. He owned a custard business near Pittsburgh.

"He told them that if they moved far enough away and not compete, that they could use the name,” says Ryan.

Hank’s can be described as an old-fashioned frozen custard stand. Old fashioned is good. No. It's great! The four machines that are making the custard today are the same machines that made the custard when the business opened. It's perfect frozen custard. That's why people have been lining up here for 73 years. Ryan calls these old machines "The Stars of the Show."

"There's newer machines and newer versions that kind of mimic these, but you know, why change it?” he says.

Ryan says custard is different from ice cream in that custard has a minimum of 10% butter fat and 2 ½% egg yolk. He says those things give it a smoother consistency. This is not diet food but customers don't seem to mind. They come here from all over and they keep coming back.

"I had a guy come in last week from Oklahoma,” says Ryan. “I talked to him. He's been here multiple, multiple times before. I asked him, Do you just come up for the cone and then turn around and go back?"

Maybe the most fascinating thing about Hank's and its history is the connection it has with Eddie's Footlongs. It truly is a longtime tradition to grab a footlong at Eddies and then go to Hank's for a cold dessert.

"Maybe it was the age of the businesses, but it just naturally happened,” says Ryan. “That's just what people started to do and it just became a thing."

The tie between the two businesses has been so strong, both Eddie's and Hank's began selling shirts last year denoting their customers' practice of patronizing both on the same day. Oh yeah! It's a new season. The traditions happily continue.

Since there are only four custard machines, the flavors vary from day to day. The most popular flavor by far is peanut butter. It's always available on Wednesdays. However, if you want to bring home some frozen custard, pre-packaged pints are available with most of the flavors on hand.