ST. LOUIS – Ted Drewes Jr., the boisterous businessman who took his father’s frozen custard business to new heights over several decades, becoming ingrained in the fabric of the St. Louis region, died earlier this week, his family confirmed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The family said Drewes Jr. died on August 26 at age 96.
Drewes’ father, Ted Sr., opened his first frozen custard shop in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1929. The following year, he opened the first St. Louis shop near the intersection of Natural Bridge Road and Goodfellow Avenue.
He opened a second location at 4224 South Grand Boulevard in 1931 and a third in 1941 at 6726 Chippewa Street.
By 1958, the shop in Florida and on Natural Bridge had closed. The South Grand and Chippewa locations survived to this day, with the latter serving as the company headquarters.
Drewes Jr. is credited with expanding the size of the Chippewa location to accommodate more customers and taking over the sale of Christmas trees on the Chippewa parking lot after a business partner dropped out in 1954.
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