WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — People can spend their entire lives trying to find their perfect match. Luckily for Burlingame Dip, its perfect match was right next door in the Corner Twist.

When it comes to complements for ice cream, soft pretzels probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. But since Jason and Christine Beecher took over the Wyoming ice cream stand in March, it’s been a match made in heaven.

The Beechers weren’t always ice cream people. The past five months have been their first experience with an ice cream stand. They’ve loved it.

“It’s a busy place,” Jason Beecher said. “It’s fun.”

Kat Vanproyen, now the owner of Tippy Cow in Grandville, sold Burlingame Dip to the Beechers, who had just bought the adjoining storefront, just over a month before opening day. It was not much time for the Beechers to get a whole new crew hired.

“Meeting that line of people and just trying to figure it all out was a bit of a challenge,” Jason Beecher said. “But we got through it.”

The couple first came to Michigan after working for decades in the food industry, traveling around the country. Their previous home was in New Jersey, where Christine Beecher could get her hands on a good soft pretzel anytime she wanted. That changed with the move.

“She said, as for fun, ‘When you’re at home at night, mess around and learn how to make a pretzel,'” Jason Beecher said.

That’s exactly what he did. After a year of trying out new recipes, Jason Beecher developed what he considered the perfect pretzel. The couple started selling them at farmer’s markets before buying a food truck during the pandemic. Their popularity grew so much that the Beechers were able to rent and ultimately own the space next to Burlingame Dip.

The Corner Twist is only open a few days a week but the goal is to expand hours next year after the Beechers get more acclimated to owning the ice cream shop and to the area. But so far, people in Wyoming have been very supportive.

“The people around here seem to be very patient and understanding and I think we got a hold of things pretty quickly,” Jason Beecher said.

Some 300 customers have lined up each day the shop was open this summer to get their ice cream fix, the Beechers said. It was a surprise to them how committed the customers were, some even waiting in lines that extend into the street.

Burlingame Dip serves over 30 different flavors of Hudsonville and other locally branded ice creams, including Jason Beecher’s favorite, Bananas Foster. They also sell a slew of other items including popsicles, flurries, shakes and slushes.

A big seller for the Beechers is the banana splits. They can sell a few dozen a day. It can cause some logistic problems, but it’s nothing the Beechers can’t handle.

The Beechers work in tandem to run both restaurants, and Christine Beechers is also a nurse, sometimes working 90 hours a week. Their relationship and connection they’ve built over the years supports their endeavors.

“I think we just understand each other,” Christine Beecher said. “I’m good at some things and he’s good at other things. And we complement each other.”

“We can work all day together on the truck and not even say a word and we just know what each other is doing and what has to be done,” Jason Beecher said. “It’s good to be able to work with somebody like that.”

As the couple continues to listen to customers’ stories about the traditions they have had at Burlingame Dip, they have become more appreciative of the shop’s history. They said they have no intentions of messing with tradition and instead hope to enhance the experience for old and new customers.

The one thing guests can expect in the future? More opportunities to grab a pretzel with their ice cream.