Howdy’s Ice Cream Parlor Is Serving Smiles & Delicious Ice Cream In Downtown El Paso
There’s a new ice cream shop in town but it’s not your regular ice cream shop! The staff at this ice cream shop strive to remind customers that we are all more alike than different and they do that with delicious ice cream and a welcoming environment.
Howdy’s Homemade Ice cream is a franchise that was started back in 2015 in Dallas, Texas by Tom Landis who wanted to give people with disabilities the opportunity to be employed and to show off their abilities.
“I love Howdy’s. It’s like a dream come true because I have been wanting to work with Howdy’s for a long time,” said Howdy’s employee Evan George Vourazeris.
When Evan isn’t serving smiles and delicious ice cream at Howdy’s, he is playing the character of Tuck on the hit Netflix series, Ozark and also speaking at various events as a motivational speaker.
“Whenever customers come in we have a smile on our face and we get energized and pumped because customers want to see that,” said Evan.
The idea to bring a Howdy’s franchise to El Paso began when the El Paso Community foundation found out about the ice cream shop and decided that something like that would be great for our community.
“People with developmental disabilities are highly under employed,” said Adam Tirres, Program Officer for the El Paso Community Foundation. “82% of people with developmental disabilities do not have a paying job so we want to fill that void and offer employment and a paycheck, but more than that we want to give them an opportunity to socialize with each other and with customers.”
Employees at Howdy’s not only receive a good paycheck for their day to day duties, they also learn important everyday skills.
“They’re working the register, so of course they're practicing math,” said Adam. “Our heroes also do everything in the factory which is about 100 feet up the street so they make the ice cream and they learn about the ABC’s of working in a kitchen and keeping everything clean.”
For Adam and his staff, the main purpose of Howdy’s isn’t just to provide locals with delicious ice cream—
“We want to serve as a model to other employers as well that you can successfully run a business that is primarily ran with people with disabilities,” said Adam.
And for Evan, this new and exciting job gives him the opportunity to remind others that the job he and his co-workers do is about more than just serving delicious ice cream.
“We have a brain, we have a mouth and we have a heart. We use our brain for the customer, we use our words by showing love, we also use our heart to encourage them to come back,” said Evan.
Howdy’s Ice cream is located in downtown El Paso inside of the Artspace El Paso Lofts on 601 N. Oregon St. Click Here for more information on Howdy’s Homemade Ice Cream.
The second you step foot into the ice cream shop you will be greeted with a big “HOWDY” by the staff who will offer you samples of ice cream and assist you with any other needs.
The colorful ice cream shop is also a perfect place to snap some selfies or to get some Howdy’s gear such as t-shirts or hats.
Howdy’s Homemade Ice cream:
- 601 N. Oregon St.
- M-TH: 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.
- FRI-SAT: 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.
- Closed on Sunday