Frozen treats and nitro cold brew coffee now available
A new place serving nitro cold brew coffee and frozen custard in fresh waffle cones has opened among the restaurants on Slabtown Road in Cashiers.
Or perhaps you’re stopping in after a meal at one of the Slabtown Road restaurants, looking for an ice cream sandwich, milkshake or smoothie.
Crossroads Custard and Cold Brew is a labor of love for owners Badge Siler and Jill Katz, who describe themselves as a match made in heaven that was created online 1,500 miles and eight states apart.
Their shared vision was to leave behind the years of corporate hierarchy and impersonal work relationships in order to open a small business catering to family and community.
Siler was in northern Minnesota and Katz was in southwest Florida, and after a year and a half of dragging his feet, Siler invited Katz to visit. That meant trading 75-degree weather for temperatures that dropped well below 0 degrees up north.
Together, they worked and lived at Grand View Lodge on Gull Lake in Nisswa, Minnesota for five years before relocating to Cashiers.
“The pandemic hit, and we were both laid off our jobs, and we thought that was a good time to move,” Siler said. “So, we got hooked up with Rex Farrier, who owns Happ’s Place, and through emails and conversations, he was looking for people to come in and do some consulting work on menus and the design of the restaurant. I have 45 years of experience owning restaurants and bed and breakfasts, Jill’s family has owned restaurants and she’s worked many years owning her own businesses.”
Deciding Cashiers was the place to open their business, the duo decided to put their decades of restaurant and hospitality experience to work, putting their dreams and late-night talks of opening such a place into motion.
The couple worked for six months with Happ’s Place before deciding to move forward with their dream in January. They looked all over northern Georgia, South Carolina and Western North Carolina for an empty building to open their shop, until Siler read a classified ad in the newspaper.
Crossroads Custard and Cold Brew, located at 45 Slabtown Road Unit A6, is the result. The shop is located between Slab Town Pizza and the Chile Loco Mexican restaurant, making it the place to stop by for frozen custard after a meal.
“We really want to cater to the local clientele,” Siler said. “We plan on being here year-round and being open six days a week. We won’t close after Christmas and reopen in May. We’re here for that duration.”
Siler said he and Katz tried to build a business where people could find a reason to come in every day, so food items such as nitro cold brew coffee, breakfast sandwiches, smoothies and waffles were also added to menu.
And none of their dreams would have been possible without funding from the Sequoia Fund, which Siler said is offered to aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to open a business. He said Western Carolina University also offers a seminar program for these individuals.
Serving 24 flavors of frozen custard and homemade cold brew coffee, the store also offers much more to local and seasonal residents.
Business patrons can find a variety of frozen treats to grab and go, as well as healthy smoothies, smoothie bowls, homemade waffle sandwiches and regional and sustainable retail merchandise.
The frozen custard flavors range from apricot and butter pecan to pina colada, strawberry, cheesecake, orange, peach, German chocolate, and more.
The business is open Tuesdays through Saturdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to peruse the shop’s selection of custard flavors, visit crossroadscustard.com.
- By Michael O'Hearn/Crossroads Chronicle