Texas natives celebrate two years at The Potter Sundry

It’s not every day you get to say you’ve eaten the soon-to-be official state sundae of Nebraska, but that’s exactly what Potter residents and anyone who has tasted the salty sweetness of a Tin Roof Sundae made exclusively at the Potter Sundry gets to say.

Currently owned by a couple originally from Texas, the Sundry has been in the Village of Potter since it opened in 1914, and it has been a staple ever since. It wasn’t until the 1930s when Pinky Thayer, the son of the first owner of the sundry, invented the infamous Tin Roof Sundae, which has even been acknowledged by The Food Network as a food that represents Nebraska.

Over a hundred years later, Thomas and Kendra Mitchell have kept the iconic sundry alive after moving to the Potter area roughly eight years ago. Originally, they moved to the area to both work at the corporate office of Cabela’s in Sidney. When Bass Pro took over operations of Cabela's, they both took jobs at an internet startup, Highby Outdoors, where they currently work.

It was at this time they began to have more free time to spend in the tiny town they moved to from Texas. They began eating at the sundry often, mostly for breakfast. Then in September 2018, they went to eat breakfast at the sundry and noticed the sign that it would be closing at the end of the month.

“Where are we going to eat bacon?” was Thomas’ first thought.

They began discussing the possibility of buying the little diner, and the more they talked, the more realistic it became.

“This is something you want to do,” Thomas said, looking at Kendra. “She’d always been a baker … She had always loved to do baking and make pies and stuff, and here was an outlet all of a sudden that she can do a bunch of that.”

Just a couple weekends later, they were back in the sundry to do some training and sign the papers on Oct. 3, 2018, to officially take ownership of the sundry.

It was one of the best decisions they ever made, Thomas said. Being so busy when they both worked at Cabela’s, they had never had time to really get to know their neighbors. Now, they were running a diner and dessert shop where every resident in town goes and has a story to tell.

“I’ve just heard stories from some of the guys that come in here for coffee talking about this place,” Kendra said. “Some of the guys have been coming here their entire lives."

They started to do more research on the history of the sundry when they began working toward getting the Tin Roof Sundae approved to be the Nebraska State Sundae. The sundry began as a pharmacy and moved to selling different kinds of food from home-cooked meals to pizza. Now, its slogan is “Breakfast, Lunch and Dessert.”

Currently, Kendra and Thomas are waiting to hear back from Gov. Pete Ricketts about the steps to make the Tin Roof Sundae the state sundae. They’ve written to him and spoken to him in person when they were at their public hearing in front of the state legislature. They are hoping to get it approved by next year.

“Several of the guys that eat breakfast here in the morning grew up eating Tin Roof Sundaes, and then went off to Vietnam,” Thomas said. “(Then they) came back and spent the rest of their lives here to eat Tin Roof Sundaes.”

That’s the thing about the sundry — it’s part of a tight-knit community that will do what it takes to keep it going, if for no other reason, at least the memories.

“There’s a few ladies and families that have opened it and then stopped and then open it again. It’s kind of a community thing,” Thomas said. “Everyone in the community loves to see the sundry open.”

It’s that community that has grown on the couple from Texas, and it keeps them rooted in Nebraska.

“We had the option of potentially moving away for other jobs, and it was like, we really don’t want to. We like the little town,” said Thomas, who grew up outside Houston.

He said Kendra had to convince him when they first moved to Potter that living in a small town would be OK.

Now he can’t imagine leaving.

“There’s a lot of people that care in Potter,” he said. “We really like this community.”

And since they took on the sundry, they have melded more and more with the community. Along with being a small diner and ice cream shop, the sundry also provides baked goods to order, consignment opportunities for local artists and crafters and acts as a small grocery store that will keep stock of what community members ask them for.

The bakery part of the sundry has become a huge hit. Kendra bakes cinnamon rolls using a two-day recipe, and they go over almost as well as the Tin Roof Sundaes. Right now, Kendra is working on building a list of all the pie flavors she offers so people can start ordering pies for the holidays.

“People always ask (for a list), and I’m like, ‘No, you tell me what pie you want, and I’ll make you that pie,’” she said. “I love to make pies. That’s been really fun for me to have an outlet to make pies.”

Kendra added that they host some fun activities to celebrate different holidays as well. Last Christmas she made 15 individually unique gingerbread houses for people to come in and decorate, and this year during Potter Days, they hosted a Tin Roof Sundae eating contest. They are also hoping to celebrate their two-year anniversary with some kind of drawing for Potter Sundry merchandise as well.

All that Kendra and Thomas are doing with the sundry has only seemed to improve the Potter community. Running one of the most iconic businesses in town, they have definitely become a part of the Potter family, and that’s something they couldn’t be more grateful for.

“Our closest family’s a thousand miles away. It’s great to have Kaylee (their daughter) now growing up around people she recognizes … she’s finally come out of her shell a little bit and, like, has family here.” Thomas said. “I don’t think we could have made a better decision.”

You can find the Potter Sundry on Facebook where they post their daily specials, or at their website thepottersundry.com where you can order from the bakery.

*Originally published in the Star-Herald on Oct. 11, 2020.