Forty Under 40: Corey Osborne

Corey Osborne, 30, moved the headquarters of Shakey’s Frozen Custard from Joplin, Mo., to Fayetteville in March. This fall, he plans to begin an expansion that will eventually take the regional chain national, then international.

Osborne grew up in Joplin and earned an architecture degree from the University of Arkansas in 1995. He worked as an architect in Dallas for a year and a half before moving home to work for the family business. His father and stepmother opened the first Shakey’s in Joplin in 1991. The second Shakey’s was opened in Fayetteville in 1997, and Osborne moved here to oversee the operation of that store.

“At that time, we thought it was just going to be the two stores,” Osborne said, “and look at it now.”

Shakey’s currently has 47 franchise stores and three company stores open. Another 14 stores are under construction. The stores are located in Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Osborne said the frozen custard made by Shakey’s is basically homemade ice cream without any air, additives or preservatives.

“Our simple philosophy, what Shakey’s Frozen Custard stands for, is service and quality,” he said.