W. H. Braum, Inc.

Ice cream means cold cash for Braum's. W. H. Braum operates a chain of about 280 Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores in Oklahoma, Texas, and a handful of other states. Popular for its ice cream and other frozen treats, the chain also serves breakfast items, sandwiches, and salads. In addition, the stores sell grocery items such as milk, cheese, and other dairy products, along with baked goods. The family-owned company has more than 10,000 dairy cows and grows its own cattle feed. Family patriarch Henry Braum started the business in 1933, opening a chain of Peter Pan ice cream stores in Kansas during the 1950s. His son Bill later took over the business, sold the stores, and started his own retail chain in 1968.

Bill Braum opened the first Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Store...but the Braum story actually begins long before that time, spanning three generations with over six decades of history behind it.