tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery
Owner -- MaggieMoo's International, LLC
Primary Operating Region -- Sporadically placed in 33 states
Number of Locations -- 190 (October 2006)

My first experience with the mix-in format wasn't one of today's big three players, and it worked slightly differently...It was Whirla-Whip.  The Whirla-Whip is a big monster of a machine that ice cream and a mix are put into, a big handle is pulled, much noise and vibration ensue, and the result is delicious.  It's all about the showmanship.  Make mine strawberry with cheesecake crumbles, please.  I haven't seen a Whirla-Whip in nearly twenty years.

Maggie Moo's was my first experience with the mix-by-hand-on-a-frozen-granite-slab format.   Everything about the format screamed impressive.  Freshly made ice cream.  Stuff to put in it.  Waffle cones.  They had them lined up at that Maggie Moo's.  They still do.

While Maggie Moo's might have been my first experience with the slab format, it was far from an original concept.  The concept is largely credited to Steve Herrell, who opened his first store in 1973.  Herrell made his ice cream on site and offered candy bars and other treats folded into the ice cream.  Imitators went up everywhere seemingly overnight.  There are three big players in the format today.  MaggieMoo's is the youngest by a year (Cold Stone Creamery started up in 1988.) 

The first Moo's was opened in Kansas City in 1989. Former Boston Market franchisee Richard Sharoff bought controlling interest of the troubled 19-store chain in 1996 and the company became MaggieMoo's International LLC.  Headquarters moved to Columbia, MD, and about half the stores were closed.  Sharhoff remarketed the remaining stores in a colorful format and created the cow mascot.  Sharoff then joined cousin Stuart Olsten in forming  Olsten Venture Partners, which became Moo's controlling partner 2001.  Sharoff left in 2003, replaced by former Panera Bread executive Jon Jameson.  Lawsuits were filed, and settled, and life went on.

The store format is commonly used in malls and in strip mall space.  The ice cream is fabulous, but things don't stop there.  MaggieMoo's offers mix-ins for the ice cream.  From fruit to chocolate chips to candy bar bits, you can add it to your waffle cone (available plain or coated with nuts and different chocolates) or dish.  It's hand-folded in front of you on a long frozen granite board.  MaggieMoo's says there's forty flavors available that are rotated, with eighteen available at any given time.  My favorite by far is Chocolate Better Batter, an ice cream take on chocolate cake batter.  

Traditionally the ice cream has been made on site at each store, but Moo's has rolled out a new format for franchisees that allows them to have a single "production" store that produces the ice cream for up to three local satellite locations.  That should be fine assuming production and distribution is still daily.  The production store format also affords opportunities for side businesses like catering and wholesale.  MaggieMoo franchisees are being encouraged to work the ice cream cake business, both in-store and outside distribution, in an effort to make MaggieMoo's the "Official Cake Supplier" for local offices and businesses.

Moo's also offers fruit smoothies, custom ice cream cakes made in the store, party packages, and T-shirts featuring their "spokes-cow" Maggie.  MaggieMoo's also apparently makes fudge seasonally (I've never seen that at my local Moo's) and have tried other things too...our local Moo's tried selling soup and sandwiches for awhile.

Stores are bright and colorful, featuring "Maggie" prominently.  Lines at my local Moo's are typically long, no matter what the season is.  Moo's is a bit quirky, has a unique product, and is fun.  Good enough for a successful recipe.

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