Stephanie Spear 
Caitlin and Frank Kenney grew up in Old Town Herndon, and their love for the community is at the heart of everything they do. Caitlin and Frank are the husband-and-wife team behind Moo Thru Ice Cream and its sister shop, Old Town Coffee, located at 315 and 317 Spring Street in Herndon. We got the chance to chat with Caitlin and Frank about the road to opening Moo Thru. Read on for more about Moo Thru and Old Town Coffee in Herndon.
A Beloved Local Brand
Many Northern Virginians are familiar with the original Moo Thru location, at 11402 James Madison Highway in Remington. Whether as a rest stop on a road trip or the destination itself, people love Moo Thru’s high-quality ice cream, made on-site from fresh milk. The shop was founded by fourth-generation dairy farmer Ken Smith in 2010. The Remington shop is two miles down the road from the 700-acre Cool Lawn Farm, which is still family-run by Ken’s son Ben. Ken’s daughter Taylor Gough is the production manager for Moo Thru, creating all of the delicious flavors of ice cream.
Caitlin and Frank are among the many who fell in love with Moo Thru’s ice cream and commitment to quality throughout the manufacturing process. “I have run other businesses and I’m always looking for a good opportunity,” Frank said. “And I loved the ice cream.” Frank and Caitlin started working with the Moo Thru team to get a franchise agreement in place, and started looking for space for their shop.
“We learned a lot about Moo Thru and how the ice cream is made,” they said. “We like to say the ice cream is farm to cone – it’s that fresh. There are no preservatives or stabilizers added. The facility is incredibly clean and the cows live a good life on the farm.”
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During COVID, Frank started exploring coffee drinks and, as he says, became obsessed with coffee and espresso. He thought that adding a coffee shop side to Moo Thru would be a natural fit, and the Moo Thru team agreed. “They thought it was a good idea and now they’re offering coffee drinks, too,” Frank said.
Caitlin and Frank said that finding a space was hard and it took them several months between 2022 and 2023 to find what eventually became the location for Moo Thru. The space at 315 and 317 Spring Street was well-suited for the two sides of the operation. Caitlin is the owner of the Cinnamon Tree Dance Shop, located in the same building, at 305 Spring Street. “It just worked out,” she said. “We have the same landlord for both spaces, which made it easier.”
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While the space was being renovated to suit Caitlin and Frank’s vision, they set up in the parking lot with a Moo Thru truck from June to September 2023. In 2024, the truck was on site from April to June until the shop opened. Moo Thru officially opened on June 5th and Old Town Coffee on July 5th.
About the Shop
The airy space is at the corner of the building, so the front wall of windows lets in plenty of natural light. There’s a nod to Moo Thru’s dairy background with a giant red barn as the backdrop for the ice cream side of things. “The ice cream gets delivered to us from Remington once a week,” Frank says.
He continued, “We’ve been able to share ice cream and make sure you don’t have to make the drive. A lot of people tell us every weekend they would go down, drive the hour and 15 minutes, wait the 45 minutes or whatever it may take to get through the line. So we’re happy to be able to service those people and give them the ice cream without them having to drive so long.”
Old Town Coffee gets its tea and coffee beans from Rise Up Coffee Roasters, based on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Frank hand-selected the company based on the taste and quality of the beans. “It’s all organic and fair-trade,” he added. Local, freshly-made pastries are delivered daily, and the cream cheese served with the bagels is also locally made.
Frank said of the setup,“It’s basically the two things I love the most, coffee and ice cream, being able to be in the same location and share with everybody in this area.”
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Caitlin and Frank look forward to more people in the community visiting the space, for ice cream, coffee, and to gather. “A good thing about our location is it’s an all-day spot,” Caitlin said. “You can get breakfast or coffee in the morning, and come back later with the kids for an after-school treat in the afternoon or evening.” They said they’re interested in hosting fundraisers and working with local community groups and schools.
As far as favorite flavors, Caitlin says her favorite is the Banana Pudding. “It’s to die for – it’s made with real Nilla wafers,” she said. Frank said his favorite is blackberry. “The flavors we’re known for are things you can’t really get anywhere else, like blackberry or dark chocolate,” he said.
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