COLUMBIA, Md. — The Meadows Original Frozen Custard in Columbia is throwing a customer appreciation party after the community helped save the shop from closing.
The event runs Friday, Sept. 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hickory Ridge Village Center location. Attendees will receive a free scoop of signature vanilla on a cake cone, and everything else on the menu will be 10% off all day.
The party follows a community effort that kept the shop open after owners Tricia Hsu and her husband Yiwei Chang learned their landlord, Kimco Realty, would not be renewing their lease after 16 years at the location.
Howard County
A favorite frozen custard shop was set to close. But then the community rallied.
After the news spread through hyper-local digital outlet The Merriweather Post, customers flooded the shop with calls, emails, and visits — with lines out the door. Kimco returned to negotiations, and the shop announced Tuesday that a new lease has been signed.
"The community really helped us. We're really grateful," Chang said. "Without them, without the village, you know, we'd probably be looking for somewhere else right now or thinking what to do next."
Hsu and Chang had previously said they were planning a customer appreciation event to give back to the community that saved their shop.
"We get to see so many happy faces every day. People come to us, they're just so excited," Hsu said.
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