As customers enter Cudos, they are greeted by the sweet and comforting aroma of warm donuts. Vibrant polaroids decorate its walls, bringing color to the store’s sleek, bright and minimalistic interior.
On Oct. 10, Cudos opened its doors, bringing a unique dessert combination of frozen custard and donuts to Town and Country. Wishing they could find frozen custard closer to home, husband and wife Hansel Lynn and Lisa King-Lynn took matters into their own hands and opened their shop, inspired by Andy’s Frozen Custard — a staple of their frequent East Coast travels.
“It just got me thinking, how come this [frozen custard] is something I can only get when I’m traveling?” Lisa King-Lynn said. “Why isn’t it a thing on the West Coast, especially since they [Hansel Lynn and his colleagues] will go out of their way just to get frozen custard.”
While Hansel Lynn’s favorite was always frozen custard, Lisa King-Lynn wanted to bring her own twist to it and set their business apart from others.
“He [Hansel Lynn] just said, ‘What do you think about the idea of opening a frozen custard shop?’” Lisa King-Lynn said. “I myself like donuts and I was like, ‘Well, why don’t we throw in the donuts, that’s sort of like a unique spin on it’. Because there’s frozen custard, but there’s no frozen custard and mini donuts.”
“Well, why don’t we throw in the donuts, that’s sort of like a unique spin on it’. Because there’s frozen custard, but there’s no frozen custard and mini donuts.”
— Lisa King-Lynn, Cudos co-founder and co-owner
Lisa King-Lynn and Hansel Lynn have a history of being ambitious when it comes to opening new businesses. Hansel Lynn started the School of Rock in Palo Alto, theCoderSchool and develops real estate with Lisa King-Lynn.
Their business experience came in handy when opening Cudos, each of them using their strengths to create a successful team.
“He’s more the back end, back of house, I’m more front of house,” Lisa King-Lynn said. “He does more paperwork and that kind of logistics.”
After months of planning and preparation for a smooth summer opening, Lisa King-Lynn and Hansel Lynn were ready to open their shop. But the pandemic and supply chain backups had other plans.
“Our original frozen custard machine took maybe a month, two months longer [to deliver] than it was supposed to and I think that was the effect of the global supply chain,” Lisa King-Lynn said. “That pushed us back, we originally wanted to open early in the summer and then that machine didn’t work out.”
Despite the delays, Lisa King-Lynn and Hansel Lynn launched Cudos successfully and have high hopes for its future.
“We hope that this business takes off and the people continue to come back,” Lisa King-Lynn said. “We might expand to other stores if possible. For now, we want to focus on the success of the store — meeting the sweet needs of our customers.”
