Growth Chains: Freddy's Frozen Custard & SteakburgersGrowth Chains: Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

M. Sharon Baker

The first Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers was just a hobby — a small hamburger joint where Bill and Randy Simon and Scott Redler could get a steakburger, a made-to-order, lean ground beef burger served on a buttered, toasted bun, like the Simon brothers’ dad made.

It also was a place where they could grab a frozen custard treat that they couldn’t find anywhere else around Wichita, Kan.

They opened the first Freddy’s, named after the Simons’ dad, Fred, in August 2002 in west Wichita. Seven months later, they added a second fast-casual location in east Wichita — but only because it was a lot closer “to drive for our meals,” said Bill Simon, Freddy’s chief executive.

At the time the two Freddy’s opened, Randy Simon was bu...