Original Article by Dan Eaton, Columbus Business First

A homegrown dessert brand is adding another local shop.

Whit’s Frozen Custard opens Friday at 12068 Sycamore Trace in Plain City.

It’s the latest addition to the growing Jerome Village development.

The shop is owned by franchisees Amy and Will Pawlikowski, who also own and operate the Lewis Center location.

“Jerome Village is exactly the kind of family-oriented, growing community we want to be part of,” Amy Pawlikowski said in a press release. “We’re excited to bring the same quality, hospitality and hands-on service that our Lewis Center customers have embraced and create another place where families and neighbors can come together.”

The brand’s signature is its frozen custard, made fresh throughout the day. It has a rotating menu of daily flavors, shakes, sundaes and “Whitsers,” which takes that frozen custard and blends it with toppings and mix-ins.

One feature flavor is called Buckeye Madness.

To mark the opening, customers will be able to enter a raffle for prizes including a frozen custard cake or quart of custard each month for six months.

The 1,236-square-foot shop will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

It’s expected to employ 25 to 30.

The shop is in the center adjoining the Kroger Marketplace store that opened at Jerome Village in 2024. It’s also next to JT’s Pizza & Pub, which opened in January.

Though based in Kentucky after the 2025 acquisition by CEO Bill Aseere and his Space Cowboys Restaurant, Whit’s is a locally-founded brand that started in Granville in 2003.

It is approaching 100 locations in 11 states. There are 19 in Central Ohio with the Jerome Village addition. A Dublin shop is coming soon, according to the brand’s website.