About Anderson's

In 1946, Mr. & Mrs Carl and Greta Anderson, both of Swedish descent, were living in the Bronx, New York. Carl had served in the United States Navy and had just been honorably discharged. While Carl had previously earned a law degree at the University at Buffalo, he was not interested in practicing law, and the couple was unsure of their next steps.

A friend of theirs, Charlie Erickson, suggested they open a frozen custard stand. He knew Carl and Greta well and recognized a strong work ethic and spirit of service in the young couple. Helpfully, Charlie also happened to sell soft serve machines for frozen custard!

Carl and Greta decided to purchase the machines. They found a perfect location for their shop next to a movie theater on White Plains Boulevard in the Bronx. Family members and friends gathered to help with electrical work, share advice, and loan start-up funds. When they opened the shop, they offered a simple menu of frozen custard and Italian ice.

While Carl and Greta were successfully serving frozen desserts at their shop, they missed their families back in Buffalo, New York, and began looking for an opportunity to move.  

A short time later Carl and Greta moved back home and opened their second location on Kenmore Avenue in Buffalo. They built the shop close to the road, mirroring the design of their shop in the Bronx, so the community could easily walk up and enjoy a custard cone on a hot summer evening.  

Carl and Greta’s commitment to quality products and exceptional service brought success, but times were changing. Automobile ownership was growing. To the dismay of Buffalonians who enjoyed showing off their cars, the Kenmore Avenue shop did not include parking. Once again, Carl and Greta looked for an opportunity to move.

In 1953, Carl and Greta built and moved into their third Anderson’s location on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda, New York. Applying their experience, they placed this building right in the middle of the lot. There was plenty of parking and the lot soon filled with fabulous cars of the 1950s and 1960s. Iconic photos of this location capture the energy and fun of standing in line at Anderson’s for frozen custard in the summer. During several of those years, you could also pick eggs and milk at the Anderson’s location on Sheridan Drive.

It was common at the time to scoop frozen custard like ice cream, and that’s how Carl and Greta had been serving frozen custard at Anderson’s. In the late 1950s, however, technology advanced again and Carl and Greta took a risk and purchased the newest frozen custard machines. These machines set Anderson’s apart by being among the first to serve frozen custard directly from the machine onto a cone.

In the mid-1960s, Carl and Greta noticed the growing popularity of roast beef sandwiches on a kimmelweck roll or “beef on weck” and decided a food item would complement their frozen desserts perfectly. After experimenting at home with various roasting techniques and recipes, Carl and Greta chose quality beef, purchased a convection oven for the shop, and began roasting the beef daily on site. They sliced the roast beef fresh as each sandwich was ordered for the best possible flavor, a tradition carried on at all Anderson’s locations today.

After a couple weeks of serving sandwiches, Carl and Greta noticed they had some roast beef left at the end of each day. Not wanting anything so delicious to go to waste, Greta began testing recipes for barbecue beef sandwiches, and settled on her own recipe, which is still used to make Anderson’s iconic barbecue beef sandwiches.

As the business grew, Carl and Greta’s family grew too! All five Anderson children have taken their turn working in the family business. You may remember them serving you from the walk-up windows at the Anderson’s location on Sheridan Drive! This experience prepared them well to later carry on the Anderson’s tradition of hard work and service with a smile.

In 1984, Carl and Greta passed the torch to three of their children and their son-in-law: Nels, Holly, and Keith Anderson, and Holly’s husband Kirk Wildermuth. These second-generation owners actively worked alongside the team of loyal Anderson’s employees to carry on the brand their parents had established.

Carl and Greta supported and advised their children along the way. Carl’s refined palate and Greta’s green thumb were generously shared in the decades that followed the ownership transition. In later years, Greta would spend time with Anderson’s employees during management training sharing the history of the company and encouraging employees with the simple advice: “just smile!”

With their feet under them and with growing families of their own, in the late 1980s, Nels, Holly, Kirk, and Keith decided to open an additional location. They chose Williamsville, New York, a popular and growing area, and in 1989 opened Anderson’s location on Main Street. Not long after, they opened a third Anderson’s location on the University of Buffalo’s North Campus in 1991, which they later moved to Union Road in Cheektowaga, New York in 1993.

The family explored further expansion through franchising in the mid-1990s, thanks to Kirk’s initiative. They brought together the entire Anderson’s team to document recipes, prepare training programs, and to coin Anderson’s mission: “to give and create smiles.” During this season of rapid growth, several franchise locations were opened including locations in North Tonawanda , Buffalo, Lockport, Lancaster, and Orchard Park, Niagara Falls, New York. The Anderson’s locations on Delaware Road in Buffalo (1998) and on Transit Road in Lancaster, New York (1999) were initially opened as franchises and now continue to operate as company-owned Anderson’s locations.

After attending Penn State Short Course ice cream school in 1992, Nels brought in-house hard ice cream production to the Anderson’s location on Main Street. With only a freezer and limited counter space, he experimented with flavors and developed recipes for ice cream, continuing the commitment to quality ingredients that Carl and Greta had established. With the addition of handmade hard ice cream to the Anderson’s menu, the family moved ice cream production to the Anderson’s location on Union Road in 1993. A few years later in 1996, having outgrown the ice cream production capacity at Union Road, the family built a dedicated ice cream production location next to the Anderson’s location at Sheridan Drive.

Ahead of their time again, in 2010, the family encouraged Nels as he searched for an all-natural beef to offer the community the highest quality roast beef available. Serving all-natural roast beef before it was widely available was no easy feat, and the commitment to serving high quality all-natural roast beef continues now as it did then.

The season of expansion concluded with the family opening the Anderson’s location on Niagara Falls Boulevard in West Amherst, New York in 2002.  It was the first location with a drive through.

The decade of development and expansion would not have been possible without Keith’s gift for building and maintaining relationships with the many local businesses that supply Anderson’s locations. He also steadily applied his accounting background to help the company navigate complex financial decisions.

Holly took on greater responsibility when Kirk retired in 2005. While Andersons has been a value-driven company since the beginning, Holly worked with the family and the location managers to document its values. Two of the core values are professionalism and continuous self-improvement.

These values became the basis for a culture where excellence is encouraged and expected, where curiosity is seen as a strength, and where every team member is supported in developing skills that extend beyond their immediate responsibilities.

In the mid-2000s, Holly also noticed the number of requests for Anderson’s to be available outside of Buffalo had grown substantially. After testing shipments to friends and family across the United States until she found the right combination of packaging, dry ice, and preparation, Holly established a nation-wide shipping program. The Anderson’s team is now able to send frozen custard, ice cream, and all the ingredients to build roast beef sandwiches everywhere in the United States.

Nels retired in 2012. Holly and Keith continued to own and operate the business.

In 2016, Anderson’s experimented with a new way to expand and purchased a food truck. Since then, the WeckOnWheels truck has brought Anderson’s favorites to festivals, events, and private parties every summer.

In 2023, with Keith’s retirement, Holly moved into her role as the sole owner of Anderson’s, ensuring the family’s commitment to quality and community remains at the heart of the brand.

To prepare for continued growth, Holly expanded Anderson’s leadership team by welcoming Jonathan Emery, retired from the United States Army, as Chief Financial Officer, and elevating longtime team member Ryan Pangrazi to Chief of Operations. With this strengthened executive team in place, it became clear that future expansion would require additional talent and expertise, leading to the growth of the Operations Team. Working alongside the experienced Senior Manager Team, they continue to refine, elevate, and build the Anderson’s brand.

In 2025, this unified leadership team opened Anderson’s seventh location on Grand Island Boulevard in Grand Island, New York, marking another milestone in the company’s ongoing story of innovation and community connection.

In the past 80 years, Anderson’s has employed thousands of teammates. Each of them, through their diligence and hard work, has contributed to the success of Anderson’s brand. Today, more than 300 teammates serve in the seven Anderson’s locations & food truck: bussing tables, serving frozen custard, scooping handmade ice cream and slicing all natural roast beef sandwiches, leading shifts, managing locations, and making ice cream. All of them continue Anderson’s legacy by giving and creating smiles every day.

Rooted in the traditions and values established in 1946, Anderson’s continues to grow while honoring the principles that shaped it. The family’s shared personal faith has been a constant thread holding them together through generations of working side by side.

Anderson’s has long been rooted in a commitment to serving our guests and strengthening our community, supported by a steadfast dedication to brand integrity and uncompromising food safety standards. Over the years, Anderson’s locations have become natural gathering places—whether it’s a postgame treat, dinner before a show, meeting up with friends, or even going on a first date. (Some of those first dates have turned into couples now celebrating years of marriage!)

Anderson’s “Gives & Creates Smiles” not only in store but in the community as well. This was a principle foundation set forth by Carl and Greta early on. It was important to them to give back to those right here in our own communities. We have hosted fundraisers for various children’s charities (Variety Kids of Buffalo, Camp Good Days of WNY & more), donated prizes to hundreds of local organizations & served handmade ice cream at fundraising events. We are proud to assist and serve our guests not only in our stores but at their events as well. 

Anderson’s guests come from all over to enjoy the many menu items. For some, Anderson’s is the first stop after the plane lands and bringing you home. For others, it is the place you bring your kids or grandkids for a treat. It’s where you’ve celebrated milestones, carried on traditions, and found comfort on difficult days. We are honored to share life with you and to be a place where your memories continue to grow.

As we say, “cheers to 80 years,” the gratitude at the heart of Anderson’s comes into full focus: gratitude for our communities and for all our teammates, past and present, who have shaped, strengthened, and carried this brand forward. Anderson’s has become a family legacy, a community tradition, and a place where generations have gathered to celebrate, connect, and create memories. That legacy continues because of the people who walk through our doors and the people who serve them with care.

The spirit that began eight decades ago still guides us, and we look forward to carrying that tradition into the years ahead with the same warmth, integrity, and sense of belonging that have defined Anderson’s from the start.