Braum's
Encyclopedia
Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores is a family-owned and operated chain of fast-food
restaurants and grocery stores based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
, with a large concentration on dairy products.
In order to maintain the freshness of its products, the company does not open stores outside of a 300-mile (483 km) radius of the home farm in Tuttle. As such, the chain has locations in Oklahoma
and those parts of Texas
, Kansas
, Arkansas
, and Missouri
within the 300-mile radius. As of 2007, there were approximately 280 stores in operation.
The restaurants serve ice cream
, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and breakfast items. Stores also include a grocery section featuring dairy
products, baked goods, beverages, frozen entrees, meats and produce.
Braum's is noteworthy for its level of vertical integration
. Almost all the food products sold at Braum's are processed or manufactured directly by the company; Braum's owns its own feed mill, dairy herd, dairy processing plant, bakery, stores and delivery trucks. It also owns eight farms and ranches with a total area of 40000 acres (161.9 km²), as well as its flagship family
dairy farm in Tuttle
, Oklahoma
. Braum's describes itself as the only major ice cream maker to still milk its own cows. They also produce the packaging used for their dairy products.
, Kansas
, as well as its "Peter Pan" retail ice cream chain; ten years later, the Peter Pan stores were sold, under the condition that the Braum family not sell ice cream in Kansas for ten years.
Having kept the family dairy herd and ice cream processing business, Braum and his wife Mary started the Braum's chain in 1968, opening 24 stores in Oklahoma
during the first year. Braum's brought products from its Emporia headquarters to Oklahoma for the first few years, later opening facilities in Oklahoma and moving the herd there in 1975.
Braum's also had some financial help from the popular series of Ernest
commercials in the 1980s.
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
restaurants and grocery stores based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, with a large concentration on dairy products.
In order to maintain the freshness of its products, the company does not open stores outside of a 300-mile (483 km) radius of the home farm in Tuttle. As such, the chain has locations in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and those parts of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
within the 300-mile radius. As of 2007, there were approximately 280 stores in operation.
The restaurants serve ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and breakfast items. Stores also include a grocery section featuring dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
products, baked goods, beverages, frozen entrees, meats and produce.
Braum's is noteworthy for its level of vertical integration
Vertical integration
In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...
. Almost all the food products sold at Braum's are processed or manufactured directly by the company; Braum's owns its own feed mill, dairy herd, dairy processing plant, bakery, stores and delivery trucks. It also owns eight farms and ranches with a total area of 40000 acres (161.9 km²), as well as its flagship family
Family farm
A family farm is a farm owned and operated by a family, and often passed down from generation to generation. It is the basic unit of the mostly agricultural economy of much of human history and continues to be so in developing nations...
dairy farm in Tuttle
Tuttle, Oklahoma
Tuttle is a city in Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,294 at the 2000 census.Tuttle is a largely agricultural community with a focus on wheat, cotton, corn, alfalfa hay, Bermuda grass hay, and cattle. Nearby Braum's Dairy, the largest farm in the area, is located just...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Braum's describes itself as the only major ice cream maker to still milk its own cows. They also produce the packaging used for their dairy products.
History
In 1957, Bill Braum purchased his family's ice cream processing business based in EmporiaEmporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, as well as its "Peter Pan" retail ice cream chain; ten years later, the Peter Pan stores were sold, under the condition that the Braum family not sell ice cream in Kansas for ten years.
Having kept the family dairy herd and ice cream processing business, Braum and his wife Mary started the Braum's chain in 1968, opening 24 stores in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
during the first year. Braum's brought products from its Emporia headquarters to Oklahoma for the first few years, later opening facilities in Oklahoma and moving the herd there in 1975.
Braum's also had some financial help from the popular series of Ernest
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
commercials in the 1980s.