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On the heels of a new store opening in Oxford and the announcement that Graeter’s Ice Cream plans to join the Liberty Center lineup, Graeter’s chief of retail operations told this news outlet about the Cincinnati company’s plans for slow-churned growth.
“We are in growth mode,” Chip Graeter said, but that doesn’t mean the family-owned company has a quota for the number of new stores it will open this year or next. Rather, Graeter’s is taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves, Graeter said.
Earlier this year, Graeter’s opened its first retail storefront in greater Chicago, and is now scouting the Midwest — such as Columbus, Cleveland and Pittsburgh — for more locations where its ice cream is sold in grocery stores, but not yet by the scoop, Graeter said.
New Graeter's locations were also opened this year in Harrison, west of Cincinnati; and earlier this month on West High Street in Oxford. On July 9, it was announced that Graeter's will open an ice cream shop at the approximately $350 million Liberty Center retail, office and residential complex under construction now for an October grand opening at Interstate 75, Ohio 129 and Liberty Way in Liberty Twp. Graeter's will also open a new Loveland site in October, Graeter said.
“We opened a number of new stores this year, which I think was an exception,” said Graeter, who is a member of the fourth generation of the family-owned business.
Graeter’s will open at Liberty Center even though it has a nearby West Chester Twp. eatery, because the dessert chain couldn’t pass up the chance to open a location that would attract dinner and movie-goers, Graeter said. The West Chester store is a full-service location with a bakery and candy line, but Liberty Center will be a smaller scoop shop, Graeter said.
“We also knew if we didn’t go there, somebody else would,” he said.
Graeter's Ice Cream was founded in 1870 after the founders had success selling their French Pot churned ice cream in Cincinnati's street markets. Today, Graeter's has approximately 40 retail stores and ships more than 300,000 pints annually for online mail order sales. Graeter's can also be found in more than 6,000 grocery stores in 46 states, according to the company's website, graeters.com.
Additional locations are owned by a franchisee.
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