Greater's Ice Cream (8 page)

Large batches of cream, sugar and eggs are divided into smaller portions to be churned in the French pots, which make just two to three gallons at a time.
Courtesy of Graeter's Ice Cream
.

Melted chocolate is added to the churning ice cream and then scraped into chips in the chocolate chip flavors.
Courtesy of Graeter's Ice Cream
.

Top row, left to right
:
STRAWBERRY
ice cream used to be only seasonal, but it is now offered year-round;
PEANUT BUTTER CHIP
ice cream is a more recent addition to Graeter's, added to the menu in the 1970s;
MOCHA CHIP
ice cream is one of Lou Graeter's favorite flavors
. Middle row, left to right:
CHOCOLATE CHIP
ice cream is one of the many flavors that include different-size chocolate chunks; When the company first started,
CHOCOLATE
and vanilla were the only flavors; P
EACH
ice cream has been part of the Graeter's menu almost from the beginning.
Bottom row, left to right
:
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP
combines the luscious chocolate ice cream with rich chunks of chocolate;
BLACK CHERRY
ice cream is one of the original flavors of Graeter's;
BLACK RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP
accounts for 20 percent of all ice cream sales at Graeter's.
All images courtesy of Graeter's Ice Cream
.

Clockwise from top left
: A sundae at Graeter's includes ice cream, rich bittersweet topping, whipped cream and nuts; The 1870 Tower sundae includes a chocolate bundt cake, ice cream, whipped cream and chopped pecans; A Chip Wheelie sandwich, with ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies.
All images courtesy of Graeter's Ice Cream.

This “G” is believed to have come from one of the original stores and is now in the entryway of the Graeter's offices on Reading Road.
Courtesy of Ken Heigel.

The front of a “tally sheet” from Graeter's, probably from the 1930s.
Courtesy of The History Press.

Kids of all ages enjoy the ice cream at the Graeter's store on Lane Avenue in Columbus.
Courtesy of Ken Heigel
.

Graeter's ice cream is hand-packed into pints.
Courtesy of Graeter's Ice Cream
.

Pints for sale at the West Chester store sport the new logo.
Courtesy of Ken Heigel
.

For Chip, working in the family business wasn't originally part of his plan, though he had great admiration for his dad, Lou. “He is my true idol,” Chip said. “I mean he's amazing.”

When he was growing up, he said his father worked long hours but talked very little about the business. Home life, for Chip anyway, was very reminiscent of the '50s television show
Leave It to Beaver
. “My dad worked a lot,” he said. “I guess the key was no matter what, I always knew where my bread was buttered so I always had the utmost respect for my dad. I knew he was providing for his family. My mom made that understood to all of us. I had a great childhood.”

Still, he wasn't convinced the family business was right for him. He worked as a soda jerk at different stores during the summer, but it was just that—a summer job. “At that time we waited on tables, so I was the guy who went to your table and brought you a glass of water,
a napkin and took your order,” he said. “I took it back to the counter. The folks there made it. And I'd deliver it to you and get a fifteen-cent tip, and it was awesome.”

In the '60s and '70s, and probably before, customers were seated at tables and given menus at Graeter's.
Courtesy of the Cincinnati Historical Museum
.

But Chip preferred the summers he spent working in maintenance at Graeter's. “It was the best job I ever had at Graeter's. I had a lot of fun,” he said. “Every day was something different. I love working with my hands. I love fixing things mechanical. Electrical, plumbing, all kinds of stuff that I've been able to use in my home life.”

After he graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, he was faced with indecision about what he wanted to do next. The university offered him a job in admissions, but on a whim, Chip decided to take a completely different route.

“I was laying out by the pool one day at my mom and dad's condo, talking to this lady. She worked for Delta Airlines in marketing,” he said. “She told me I should be a flight attendant.” So he filled out an application, got a job interview and three days later left for training in Atlanta. He was a flight attendant for three years. “It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,” he said.

Richard's sister, Cindy, worked in the family business while in high school and college but became a travel agent after graduation. She now is a stay-at-home mom and a part-time substitute teacher. Lou's remaining child, Mindy, worked at Graeter's for almost two decades after she graduated from college but has since left the family business to become a successful real estate agent.

In 1989, after Jon left the company, Chip's aunt Kathy, with whom he had always been close, came to him and told him if he wanted to get into the business, now was the time. “I always knew someday I'd get back to the business, but I was flying around with young pretty girls all day long. Flying to all these great places and having fun,” he said.