Sweets aren’t the only treats available from local business

Ben Cox – Just to the left of Smitty’s BBQ on Austin Avenue is a quirky looking bus, covered in pictures and hand-writing. Inside the bus, however, is where the most interesting part of the whole scene happens.

Poppy’s Sweets is a 15 year community staple and a bright spot for hot and tired kids on a summer day in Brownwood. It has been in its current spot for just at a year after the owner decided to stop driving around looking for customers and let them come to her.

Patricia Henry is the owner/operator of Poppy’s Sweets and says the idea for the mobile sweet shop came from a night of sitting on the porch with her late father Patrick while he was visiting from Wichita Falls. She says “he was always an entrepreneur” and the idea kind of stuck with her.

When they decided to make a go of it, Patrick bought an old church bus and the pair remodeled it to serve as a full, albeit small, kitchen that could serve not only ice cream and other frozen treats, but her delicious homemade treats as well.

The Frito Pie served by Henry is something that she is rightfully proud of, as well as very secretive about. “I’m not gonna tell you whats in my chili!” Henry exclaims when told how much this writer enjoys it.

With the exception of the ice cream bars and a small number of other prepackaged confections, everything is made from scratch in the little kitchen. Adding fruit and home made cream to snow cones was an idea that her 15 yr-old daughter Jay Jay came up with, and has been a hit since.

The pair often brainstorm ideas for new items to offer from the truck. The ideas aren’t only from Henry’s mind, either. “Somebody will come by and ask me ‘Can you do this?’ And I’ll think about it and try to come up with my own style” says Henry.

Lime Pollenate popsicles, Kool-Aid Pickles, Mango-nada’s, fruit with Chili and Chamoy, and Corn in a Cup are but a small sample of what is available from Poppy’s. 

Poppy’s Sweets has also been doing the concessions in the Coliseum for the last eight years, and was recently awarded the contract by the city council for a ninth year.