Betty Rae’s opening OP ice cream shop in May, deepening Johnson County scoop-print
March 6, 2025 | Joyce Smith
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.
ICYMI: Why keep Betty Rae’s from the world? KC ice cream shop franchising brand across region
“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.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Lawrence-based Ainstein taking flight with jetpack founder in Red Bull Air Race
When the founder of JetPack Aviation blasts to the sky later this month in Red Bull’s Air Race World Championship, it will be a testament to the innovation and quality at Ainstein, a Kansas radar tech firm, said Bryan C. Boots. “Although our products are widely deployed today in unmanned aviation (drone) applications, this will…
CreativeMornings KC relaunches with art culture, business community in focus
Artists are George Brooks’ people, the Crema co-founder and a co-host of the newly relaunched CreativeMornings KC guild said. “I love that CreativeMornings fosters the idea that we can all view our work, hobbies, and life through lenses of creativity,” Brooks said. “By bringing together a community of people who value creativity, it bridges the…
Advancing women as important now as ever, says STEMMy Awards leader
Women leave tech-intensive industries at a higher rate than their male counterparts because of a lack of encouragement and support, said Renee Keffer, citing a 2014 report by Catalyst. The fifth annual STEMMy Awards Gala aims to change that narrative in Kansas City, Keffer, co-chair of the event, said, but organizers need help: Nominations remain…
Kauffman Foundation’s Philip Gaskin sees entrepreneur ecosystems in the humble snowflake
Editor’s note: This content was sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation but independently produced by Startland News. When it comes to developing a startup, there’s no better training ground than a political campaign, Philip Gaskin said. “You’re building movements of people to do extraordinary things,” said Gaskin, director of entrepreneurial communities and chief of…