Shakey?s Custard, Says ?y? Not

Shakey’s Frozen Custard has dropped the “y.”

The Fayetteville-based chain officially changed its name on Sept. 14 to Shake’s Frozen Custard to differentiate itself from California-based Shakey’s Inc., one of the oldest restaurant chains in the United States with its first pizza place opening in 1954.

Jim Buckner, executive vice president of SFC, said the company plans to expand west into the home turf of Shakey’s Pizza.

“We just wanted to totally eliminate any confusion between the two brands,” he said.

Shakey’s Pizza has 73 stores, with most of them in the western United States, according to that company’s Web site.

Corey Osborne, president of SFC, said he wanted to make the name change because Shake’s Frozen Custard is on the verge of a major franchising expansion that may eventually introduce the company’s product to customers overseas. The company, which was founded in 1991 in Joplin, Mo., was named for Osborne’s father, who has the nickname “Shakey.”

Shake’s currently has 27 franchised locations in seven states. Another nine stores are under construction with a major expansion currently under way in Texas.