Ice Cream Venture Provides Jobs for People With Disabilities

By Sofie Melledy

Howdy Homemade Ice Cream in Dallas Texas is an ice cream store providing jobs to employees with disabilities. Before opening Howdy Homemade, Tom Landis had a restaurant chain called Texadelphia. On a busy night at the restaurant Landis saw Colman Jones, a man with Down syndrome, jump in immediately to help with orders. After seeing Jones working at the restaurant, Landis was impressed and saw his potential and leadership. He wanted to continue to work with Jones, so they joined together to build a new business called Howdy Homemade Ice Cream. They hired staff with disabilities including Down syndrome and autism. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is twice as high as it is for those without disabilities, so they wanted to provide jobs to help.

According to their website Howdy Homemade hopes “to change the way the world looks at everyone.” Jones is now the Vice President of Howdy Homemade where they sell many unique flavors. Their most famous flavor is the original Dr Pepper Chocolate Chip. It’s been reported that people love to come to their store for their friendly staff as well as their ice cream.

As it got busier at their new ice cream shop, Landis decided to sell his other restaurants so he could focus on Howdy Homemade. The ice cream shop has gained many supporters who look forward to seeing Jones when they visit. Landis said in a segment on “Today” with Hoda and Jenna, “If I’m behind the counter and someone comes in, they have a visual look of disappointment on their face. They want to see Colman. They want to see my crew there doing what they do. Frankly they do it better than me.”

The shop became so popular that Jones was asked to be in an ad campaign for Chase Bank. He was featured on their website and social media platforms…

With the help of grants and donations, Howdy Homemade is continuing to grow and expand. They started selling franchises and have created jobs for many more people with disabilities.