Readers say Hibbard's has 'The Best Custard' in WNY

Iconic Lewiston business takes 1^st title in NFP’s annual summer contest

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

The joke around the scoop shop on Tuesday was that it only took Hibbard’s “Original” Frozen Custard 87 seasons to be named “The Best Custard” in Western New York.

Of course, the Lewiston sweet shop is a go-to for residents, an iconic part of the village, and a frequent stop for tourists (and touring bands). That it now has a “Savory Summer” food title, well that’s the cherry on top.

“It's amazing that so many people support us,” said the man behind the magic, Manager Dan Buchner. “They come back time and time again. I just had a guy on the phone the other day. He says, ‘I haven't been there in 30 years.’ He says, ‘But I'm going to be in the area. I want to make sure you were still there.’ ”

When a business is around for 80-plus years, there's a certain expectation from customers, whether it's their first time or their 100th time visiting – an anticipation of what the product will taste like, how it will be served, what it will cost. To be voted the best means Hibbard’s is doing it right time after time.

Buchner said the key is consistency.

“Always do it the same way every time. That's really what it is,” he said. “These guys got it right a long time ago, and you just have to keep doing it that way.”

That might seem challenging in a seasonal operation where employees are often in school and may only last one season before leaving.

But Buchner said, “It's usually pretty easy. That's part of when we interview people. ‘This is how we do things, and this is the way it's going to be.’ ”

This summer, Hibbard’s continued to offer its “core four” flavors – vanilla, chocolate, black raspberry and pistachio – as well as unique creations such as cookies ’n’ crème, peanut butter, cherry cheesecake, “Cookie Monster” (vanilla ice cream dyed blue, cookie dough pieces and crushed cookies) and “Big Barenaked Bang” (a collaboration with the Barenaked Ladies that pairs ground coffee with chocolate coffee beans and semisweet chocolate bits). It also debuted two rocking flavors: “Artpark Buttered Popcorn” (a vanilla base with popcorn flavoring), and “Dick Smothers Stroopwafel” (caramel-based with waffle chips and caramel cups).

Buchner noted, “Our vanilla – we joke that it bites back. It's our own patented vanilla flavor. Nobody else has it. We're generous with it. So, it's always a very unique taste there. And that vanilla is the base for almost everything else.

“The chocolate – we use a very-high-quality chocolate for our chocolate.

“Generally, you've got to use good, quality materials.”

Hibbard’s offers its custard in cones, cups, shakes, pints and quarts.

Just don’t call it “ice cream.”

For the uninitiated, “Custard always has eggs, first of all,” Buchner said. “Usually, it's a higher butterfat content than ice creams, except for some of the real premium ones out there.

“The other thing, there's much less air. Ice cream, by volume, is about 150 to 200% air by volume. Soft serve, which everybody's used to getting out of the machines in other places, is about 60%. The type of machines we use cut that air down to about 17 to 18%, so it's a very dense, very creamy mixture.”

Hibbard’s anticipates staying open from noon to 8 p.m. daily until Friday, Oct. 30.

“Thank you to everybody for coming out every year,” Buchner said.