It’s a long way from here to California. Up until a couple of months ago, you would’ve had to make that trip to sample one of the state’s first fast-food chains. Fosters Freeze opened in Thomson in November at 2447 Cobbham Road and fans were quick to share the news on social media.
This is Fosters’ first foray outside of California’s 62 locations. Franchise owner, Deep Takhar has family in Augusta. His sister and brother-in-law own 8 GasPro stations in the CSRA and one in Statesboro. Fosters Freeze is next door to the GasPro in Thomson.
“I was managing a Fosters Freeze in California and decided to buy into franchising. It’s a brand that people love there,” said Takhar.
Fosters is sometimes referred to as the Dairy Queen of the West. There are some menu similarities, including ice cream cones, milkshakes, ice cream treats with a variety of candies in the mix, burgers, fries, and hotdogs. If that fare sounds familiar, it can be traced back to Fosters Freeze’s beginnings.
Almost 80 years ago, George Foster moved to California to open outlets for Dairy Queen since he owned the development rights in the state. However, state laws protecting the dairy industry prevented the use of dairy in restaurant names. So instead, in 1946, Foster opened a restaurant and named it after himself.
In 2015, a restaurant franchise investment group bought Fosters Freeze, modernized the brand, and operations and sales have increased every year since then. Takhar is working to continue that trend.
“We want to make sure everything is running smoothly in Thomson but we would like to expand into Augusta and Aiken. We are committed to food consistency and getting to know our customers.”
One thing is for sure as winter has invaded the CSRA, if you go try one of those tantalizing ice cream treats, it won’t melt.
You can follow Fosters Freeze in Thompson on Facebook by clicking here.
Editor’s Note:
Mitzi Oxford is a veteran broadcaster and features writer who also worked at the same television station in Columbus, Georgia as Augusta’s Brad Means! If you have a South Carolina story idea for Mitzi, please email her at mitzioxfordcreative@gmail.com.
