New custard flavor made especially for Kiwanis gig

By Drew Bracken, Sentinel Correspondent
Published June 30, 2010, in the Newark Advocate.com
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20100630/COMMUNITIES02/7010325

NEWARK, OHIO—There's a new flavor in town.

Granville's king of custard, Chuck Whitman, owner of Whit's Frozen Custard, along with his wife, Lisa, has come up with a new flavor for the Granville Fourth of July Celebration.

It's called Kiwanis Krunch, and it will be sold only during the holiday at the Kiwanis food tent at the downtown fair.

Kiwanis Krunch is maple custard with honey-roasted pecans.

"The reason we made it maple is because they're known for their maple syrup," Whitman said of Kiwanis and its annual pancakes and maple syrup project. "The pecans are mixed in. It's almost like a praline pecan. It's honey roasted. I get them from Georgia."

Kiwanis event chairman Norm Ingle, indeed, gave all the credit to Whitman.

"They came up with that on their own," Ingle said. "I was just asking them for some sort of sponsorship." Ingle got that, too -- Whit's is the chief sponsor for Monday's Mile Long Parade.

"Since Kiwanis is known for maple syrup in town, it's a natural tie-in," Ingle said. "I think everybody in town knows Kiwanis for the maple syrup we make."

Kiwanis Krunch won out over a runner-up idea.

"We were going to do red, white and blue, but the problem is not a lot of people like blueberries," Whitman said. "We do sell blueberry topping, but it doesn't sell very well. Then I thought of the maple because of the pancake thing."

Whitman volunteered to donate 1,500 scoops of Kiwanis Krunch to the club, which will reap 100 percent of the proceeds.

"A few weeks ago, I got wind an ice cream company had promised them some money for their July fourth festival, then they backed out," Whitman said. "So we contacted them and said we want to participate.

"We weren't looking for any type of sponsorship," Whitman said. "We just wanted to say this is local and we're local, and that was the crux of the whole thing."

"So we donated 1,500 scoops of custard, and they can hand them out and make 100 percent profit for Kiwanis. Then we're also going to do some vanilla scoops if they need them because not everybody will like maple."

The flavor will not be available at Whit's -- only at the Kiwanis tent.

"We want to be part of the community and with Kiwanis, it just worked out that way," Whitman said.