Betty Rae’s opening OP ice cream shop in May, deepening Johnson County scoop-print

Local favorite Betty Rae’s Ice Cream is expanding in Johnson County — taking a coveted corner spot in the Shoppes at Deer Creek Woods in sprawling Overland Park.

Future Betty Rae’s Ice Cream location at 6936 W. 135th. St. in Overland Park; photo by Joyce Smith

A May opening is scheduled at 6936 W. 135th. St. It will be the sixth Betty Rae’s for the metro. (Hen House Market is an anchor tenant in the center, just east of Metcalf Avenue.)

“When I bought the company two years ago, my intent was really to bring Betty Rae’s to more people in Kansas City,” owner Matt Shatto told Startland News. “We’ve looked at areas where we’re missing out — and where customers are missing out. Southern Johnson County is one of those places. We’re extremely excited to come to a new population, and hopefully they’ll embrace us, like we’re going to embrace them.”

Betty Rae’s Ice Cream serves 26 handmade premium ice cream flavors — from such classics as vanilla bean and chocolate to monthly specials like matcha, Bee’s Knees, and Nutty Professor. It also is known for its collaborations with other high-profile local businesses, incorporating popular ingredients like McLain’s Cinnamon Rolls (McLain’s Bakery) and Joe’s KC BBQ & Burnt Ends (Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que).

The company was founded in 2016. Shatto purchased it in May 2023 and rapidly added three locations.

Now Betty Rae’s has shops in Merriam, Olathe, Prairie Village, the River Market and Waldo, as well as an ice cream truck.

Its ice cream also is carried in 28 Cosentino family-owned Price Chopper, SunFresh, and Cosentino’s Market grocery stores, as well as many Hy-Vees.

Matt Shatto at the Betty Rae’s Ice Cream location in River Market; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Shatto also is franchising Betty Rae’s.

One location opened in Omaha in September and the franchisee is opening another soon.

In late February, Shatto announced seven cities in the region for his franchise footprint: St. Louis, Missouri; Wichita, Kansas; Bentonville, Arkansas; Nashville, Tennessee; Denver, Colorado; and Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma.

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“We wanted to get it to more people in Kansas City. But we didn’t want to limit [the brand] to people in Kansas City,” Shatto said of taking Betty Rae’s regional, then national.

The company is eying franchise partners who will open two to five shops in each market.

Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.