tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- Braum's
Owner -- Privately held (by the Braum's)
Primary Operating Region -- Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas
Number of Locations -- 290 (2004)

It isn't weird that Braum's is a fast food restaurant.

It isn't weird that Braum's is an ice cream shop.

It isn't weird that Braum's is a grocery retail outlet.

It's weird that Braum's is all three.

You can go to a Braum's store and have a burger, get an ice cream cone for dessert, and pick up some milk to take home.  All under one roof, and all under the Braum's brand name.

To make the point simple, Braum's is a dairy with a chain of factory outlet stores that sell the dairy products (and more) packaged for take-home, and have built-in restaurants with a menu revolving around the Braum's product line.  It's all very diabolical.

Henry Braum had a butter and milk processing plant in Emporia, Kansas.  He added ice cream processing in 1940, and eventually shifted from wholesaling to retail and started the "Peter Pan" ice cream chain, using the family herd and processing plant for the ice cream.  Son Bill bought Dad out in 1957.  He sold the Peter Pan retail stores in 1967.  A no-compete clause kept the Braum's from doing ice cream business in Kansas for a ten-year period.  So the first Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Store opened in 1968...in Oklahoma.  Processing was still done in Emporia until a plant was built near Oklahoma City in 1971.  The cows stayed in Emporia until 1975 when they got lonely and wandered down the turnpike. Traffic was horrendous and the toll booth cashiers didn't know what to charge them because the cows technically didn't have two or more axles.  Okay, I made that part up, but wasn't the mental picture worth it?  Seriously, though...Braum's milking parlor in Tuttle, OK is the largest of its kind.

Braum's says they're the only major ice cream maker in the country that milks its own cows.  They can deliver milk to their stores in as little as 24 hours of it coming from the cow, which limits the range of expansion...Braum's limits store distance to 300 miles from Tuttle.  Oh...if you're wondering...they don't franchise.  Every store is company owned, as are the farms, ranches, bakeries, processing plants, and delivery trucks.  Vendors?  We don't need no stinking vendors!

When you walk in a Braum's store, you'll see three parts...The grill area, the ice cream counter, and the grocery store.  The restaurant/ice cream part basically starts parallel (hot foods order on the left, ice cream on the right), then move in opposite directions.  It looks more obvious in person than I'm describing it.  Don't fear the store based on my description.  Stop running away.  GET BACK HERE YOU IDIOT!

The hot food menu has breakfast stuff (biscuits, pancakes, bagels), and the usual burger joint style lunch/dinner menu with a few burgers and chicken items, fries, and salads.  There's also chili (seasonally) and a country-fried steak.  Drinks range from the usual sodas to floats and shakes to cherry limeade.  The only thing in the building I found not branded "Braum's" was the fountain pop, which was Coke products and Dr Pepper.  But if you buy bottled soda in the store, that's labeled "Braum's".  Most of the stuff made in the kitchen is made with the Braum's branded stuff in the store.

The stuff on the grill menu comes off to me as pretty generic.  The 1/3 pound hamburger is basically Joe Anyburger.  There's no special sauce or seasoning to them.  You could make one at home.  Heck...Braum's will sell you the frozen patties in the store.  Braum's chili looks like the canned variety and tastes a little like Waffle House's, but it's thicker and heartier.

Braum's ice cream is...creamy.   No crystallizing here.  Smooth and creamy.  Your taste buds will decide if you like their flavors or not.

The milkshakes are a little too homemade for me.  Ever made a shake at home?  You probably put some milk and some vanilla ice cream (and chocolate or some other flavor) in a blender, blended it, and poured it in a glass.  And it wasn't smooth...it had thick spots, it had milky spots...and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't make it as smooth as the Dairy Queen on the corner.  Well, Braum's milkshakes will remind you of all those blenders you burned out the motors on trying to perfect a milkshake.

Then there's the store.  It's a lovely corner of the building that probably started out in 1968 as nothing but Braum's-branded milk, ice cream, sour cream, and other dairy products.  Now you can get the complete Braum's-branded dairy line, bakery line, ice cream toppings (like hot fudge), and frozen entrees like lasagna, spaghetti, Salisbury steak, and more.  Braums recently rolled out a "Fresh Market" section with fresh meat and produce in all stores.  Braum's is becoming a regular little local market.

If anything, I find Braum's to be fun.  I like browsing the grocery store while I wait for my food.  Most customers seem to be family groups in for a cone, or maybe dinner.  The fact it's a regional family business probably attracts people.  Without the Braum's, it wouldn't be...Braum's. 

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