LINDEN, Ind. — Kyle Brown’s sweet tooth was so strong growing up, his mother would let him eat his dessert before his dinner.
But despite knowing this, Brown’s wife, Ashley, said she was still surprised to hear Kyle tell her about his dream of owning an ice cream stand.
They are the owners of Brown’s Accents, at 3325 N. US 41 in Attica. Ashley said when the opportunity to buy the Lindy Freeze presented itself, she didn’t feel as enthusiastic has he did.
“I told him I needed some time to pray about it, because an ice cream stand just wasn’t a part of my vision,” Ashley said. “It took me a little while, but I kept praying on it, asking God to change my heart. And I woke up one day and something told me that we needed to do this and to support my husband’s dream.”
As the Brown family prepares for their grand opening of the Lindy Freeze, at 420 N. Holden St. in Linden and now rebranded as Brown’s Lindy Freeze, Ashley said the outpouring of community support around her husband’s dream has shown her their endeavor was worth the 20-year build-up to this moment.
A makeover for a nearly 60-year-old icon
Driving down North Main Street in Linden, hitting the small curve in the road, the Lindy Freeze is hard to miss after Ashley and Kyle gave the 58-year-old business a fresh coat of pink paint.
Part of the Brown’s Accents brand, Kyle said he really wanted his wife’s support when they decided to purchase the Lindy Freeze so she could put her decorating touches on the business.
Beyond the building’s pink façade, Ashley said they have been open to the community’s suggestions of things they wanted to see changed within the Lindy Freeze. Bigger menu boards, small tweaks to the food were expected.
But the bird problem was not.
“We had to have a company come in to install netting all up underneath the coverage of the picnic tables,” Asley said. “The birds had been so bad, the tables and service counter would just be covered in droppings, but after two days of having that net installed, the birds seem to have moved on and away from the restaurant.”
The Lindy Freeze’s menu will remain consistent with its previous offerings of quick fare and ice cream, but Ashley said much of the new menu has been inspired by the couple’s two daughters and their extended family.
“The Aley,” a lemonade with strawberries and dragon fruit named for the Browns’ eldest daughter, and “The Addy,” a fountain Coke with vanilla and marshmallow flavoring named for their youngest daughter, are a few of the newly inspired additions to the menu.
Although family names are prevalent across the new, big menu board, some of the family’s hobbies can be found, too, including their love for Jeeps and a good golf game.
“We have put so many hidden gems on the menu that unless you’re family, you won’t really know the story behind them,” Ashley said. “But those the things that make this menu special to us.”
Alongside classic soft serve, Ashley said bringing her favorite brand of hand-dipped ice cream, central Ohio-based Velvet Ice Cream, was important to her, too.
One of the hopes with opening the Lindy Freeze, Kyle said, is turning the summer stand into a year-round business.
“I know ice cream can be seen as seasonal, but a lot of what we do at Brown’s Accents and with our food trucks is pretty fall-loaded,” Kyle said. “Staying open year-round is something we are really contemplating, but looking at it right now, the Lindy Freeze is something that will get us through March to Christmas.”
Leaning hard on their close-knit family, both blood and community
Kyle began working for his father Kenny’s farm when he was 15 years old. A third-generation farmer, Kyle said the decision to move on from farming as Kenny grew older wasn’t easy, but the father and son are closer than ever.
When the opportunity presented itself to Kyle to buy the Lindy Freeze, he said the first person he called was his father.
But that doesn’t bother Ashley, she said, because she would have done the same thing.
“Sometimes, at a fault, the first person we call is our dads instead of each other,” Ashley said with a laugh. “But we don’t care, because we love each other’s parents.”
Elbow to elbow, Ashley said much of the interior renovations to the Lindy Freeze have been accomplished with the help of her father-in-law. But along with her own family, Ashley said the turnaround on their renovations couldn’t have been done without her Brown’s Accents family, too.
“We have been really blessed that people who have worked for us still want to come back and continue helping us with whatever needs done,” Ashley said. “None of what we have accomplished would have been possible without the people who’ve helped us along the way, and that goes for our customers, too.”
While Ashley and Kyle have become pros at their annual fall events with Brown’s Accents and food truck partnerships, Kyle said he would be lying to say he wasn’t a little nervous for their grand opening of Brown’s Lindy Freeze on Monday, April 21, at 11 a.m.
But despite his nerves, Kyle said he feels confident the support he and Ashley have been shown since announcing their new venture will outweigh any small slip-ups in their first few days.
“We have so many loyal followers that have been with us through the years from our festivals, and the thing is, none of this would be possible without those people,” Kyle said. “The Lindy Freeze is a tradition, and we know we need to honor it for the icon that it is and for the loyal customers who visit it every year. We’ve got to learn to crawl before we can walk, and we just hope everyone will have some grace with us as we get things moving along.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com.