Why this 154-year-old family ice cream business still makes its product by hand
Take-Away with Sam Oches
Nation's Restaurant News
2.5 • 15 Ratings
🗓️ 18 April 2024
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Chip Graeter, head of retail operations for Graeter’s Ice Cream, a 154-year-old creamery out of Cincinnati that has 56 shops in five states. Alongside his brother and cousin, Chip is part of the Graeter family’s fourth generation to lead this iconic brand, and he joined the podcast to share some of the secrets to sustaining a family business for such a long time.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- Family businesses need smart people from outside the business to help
- Retail could be a smarter growth path than franchising
- You don’t have to sacrifice your quality standards to grow
- Kids can help you unlock brand longevity
- A long-lasting business requires constant reinvestment
Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News. |
| 0:09.9 | I am Sam Ocas, editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access pass to the restaurant industry's most influential decision-makers. |
| 0:18.6 | This week I'm talking with Chip Grater, the head of retail operations |
| 0:22.9 | at Grater's ice cream, a 154-year-old creamery out of Cincinnati that has 56 shops in five states. |
| 0:32.7 | Alongside his brother and his cousin, Chip is part of the greater family's fourth generation to lead |
| 0:38.9 | this iconic brand. And he joined the podcast to share some of the secrets to sustaining a family |
| 0:44.7 | business for such a long time and why he wants graders to last forever. In this conversation, |
| 0:50.8 | you'll learn more about why family businesses need smart people |
| 0:54.1 | from outside the business to help, why you don't have to sacrifice quality standards to |
| 1:00.5 | grow, and why a long-lasting business requires constant reinvestment. |
| 1:06.3 | Jumping now into my interview with Grater's head of retail operations, Chip Grater. |
| 1:12.0 | Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview as I will share my five takeaways from this discussion, actionable |
| 1:16.5 | insights that you can take with you on the go. Okay, I'm here with Chip Grater, the head of retail |
| 1:24.4 | operations for Grater's ice cream. Chip, thanks for joining me today. |
| 1:28.1 | Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Of course. Now, Chip, before we hit record, I was gushing |
| 1:33.0 | because I am a big band of Graters as an Ohioan. It is well, well beloved in my household, |
| 1:39.9 | and I'm sure that'll come out a lot more in this interview. But of course, around the country, |
| 1:43.3 | not everybody's familiar with the Grater's brand. |
| 1:46.7 | This is a 154-year-old company, which is amazing in this day and age. |
| 1:53.5 | But tell us a little bit more about the history of this company. |
| 1:56.3 | Wow. |
| 1:56.7 | Okay. |
... |
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