Louis Charles Graeter leaves home in Indiana for the big city and begins selling ice cream at a street market, eventually establishing a storefront on Sycamore Street.
Louis and his brother Fred move to various storefronts, adding candy to the business and eventually following the incline up to Walnut Hills. In August 1883, Louis leaves to open an ice cream company in California.
Louis returns to Cincinnati, marries Regina Berger and resumes operating Graeter’s Ice Cream in Walnut Hills (which his brother continued during his absence). The couple settles at 967 East McMillan Street.
Louis dies in a tragic accident. Regina continues the business with her two young sons.
Regina begins opening satellite stores, beginning with Walnut Street downtown and the Higginson’s Tea Room in Hyde Park. Six new stores are opened by 1929.
Underperforming stores are closed or relocated, and Graeter’s enjoys a period of high profitability as war-weary customers enjoy sweet treats at Graeter’s during a time of rationing.
Ice cream industry begins to change with the introduction of soft serve and home freezers that make packaged ice cream feasible at home all year round.
Regina Graeter, “the Boss,” dies; business is carried on by her sons, Wilmer and Paul. The industry changes from mom and pop shops to an era of big commercial dairies and mass production.
Bakery product line is introduced in response to competitive challenges of new soft serve and the trend to eat ice cream at home.
Wilmer, with sons Louis, Dick and Jon, buys out Uncle Paul and rebuilds a business that had deteriorated due to lack of investment over the previous decade.
Graeter’s opens prototype single-store ice cream factory on Colerain Avenue based on new Carpigiani batch freezer.
Graeter’s first franchise operation opens in northern Kentucky. Single-store factory concept is abandoned, but the Carpigiani machines prove successful.
Graeter’s begins selling ice cream through Kroger.
Fourth-generation Chip, Bob and Richard join the business.
Plant expansion is completed, nearly doubling the space to twenty-five thousand square feet at a cost of almost $2 million.
Transition of ownership to the fourth generation is completed. Major brand projects completed, resulting in a professional brand mark, packaging and environmental designs.
Work begins to add three new retail stores, taking Graeter’s outside Hamilton County and beyond the I-275 loop for the first time.
Plant capacity increased over 40 percent from 2004, allowing for Ohio wholesale expansion. New strategic alliances formed with Trauth and Smith to expand distribution.
Graeter’s introduced to Denver in the first test market without retail, sparking interest from new partners and other markets. Plans begin for new manufacturing plant.
Graeter’s breaks ground for its new plant in Bond Hill, to be completed 2010.
Graeter’s moves production to new Bond Hill plant and buys out largest franchisee, bringing the total number of company-owned retail stores to twenty-nine.