“I don’t like to talk to restaurant owners,” says Tom Landis, “because all they do is complain about not being able to find good help. And I’m like, ‘Look, I’ve proven this for years. If you were to hire people with special needs, you wouldn’t have the labor issues you’re having.’”
Back in 2015, Tom Landis opened Howdy Homemade Ice Cream in Dallas. In the near-decade since then, Howdy Homemade has grown tremendously. Today, Howdy Homemade has 13 stores nationwide, and ice cream in several major grocery retailers, including H-E-B, Tom Thumb and Publix.
Howdy Homemade is committed to providing job opportunities to people with disabilities and special needs, as well as providing training to this diverse community of workers. Landis attributes the brand’s success to the employees who helped build it. By emphasizing their individual talents, Howdy Homemade creates a functional workplace simply by allowing the team members to do what they do best.
Landis was inspired to open Howdy Homemade after reading Another Season: A Coach’s Story of Raising an Exceptional Son, a memoir by former Texas A&M football player and University of Alabama football head coach Gene Stallings. The memoir shares accounts of Stallings’ life raising John Mark Stallings, his son born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. In the book, readers learn how Stallings encouraged his son to live an active life and get involved in the community, despite doctors suggesting he would not live to see his first birthday. Landis named the shop Howdy in reference to Stallings’ alma mater, Texas A&M, where “howdy” is used frequently as a greeting.
At Howdy, Landis is committed to teaching his employees the skills necessary to thrive in the workplace. “Everything from how to greet a customer to how to ring up the register to how to close up the shop at night and how to follow checklists,” he says.
Over the years, Landis learned how much people with special needs could accomplish under the right circumstances. He tells me a story about an employee of his who not only created a flavor — the signature Heath lover — but also developed it while on the clock.
“We put it out to try,” says Landis, “and the customers were like, ‘I really like this one!’ If you know one person with autism, you know exactly one person with autism — and just the uniqueness of it. But also, I think there are so many untapped capabilities.”
Continuing, he tells another story about a different employee, who is also on the autism spectrum. According to Landis, this employee handles “the calls for catering way better than [he] could” and also “moves the product in the grocery stores very well.” Landis credits her as the store’s “best sampler.”
As the timeline would suggest Howdy’s success didn’t happen overnight. While the number of storefronts has gradually increased over the years, Landis dealt with much rejection in the process of Howdy becoming a household name.
The placement of Howdy’s product in H-E-B stores came by way of the retailer’s annual contest, in which creators and small business owners compete for a chance to have their product carried in stores.
“I entered the contest five years in a row,” says Landis. “It took me five tries, but we just didn’t give up. We got third place, and next thing we knew, we were on 135 grocery store shelves.”
Howdy Homemade Ice Cream embodies perseverance and hard work. By helping embolden and empower a community whose needs often go overlooked, Landis has created a space where people can thrive. While he acknowledges each of his employees’ disabilities, Landis also hones in on each of their skills and talents, allowing them to shine while serving up some incredible sweet treats.
“What we want to do is create truly sustainable jobs,” says Landis. “That means that we are making money for the company and making money for the employee as well. And we think there’s zero reason to lower that bar.”
Landis wants to show other businesses that if they hire people with special needs — a neurodiverse group — they will not simply match the competition; rather, they will perform better. "I think that's what we’re seeing right now,” he adds.
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