House of Flavors: Difference between revisions
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The Park Dairy business incorporated in 1964 and changed its name to "House of Flavors" as its permanent name. Bob Sr. started playing a lesser role in the business in the 1970s and semi-retired. His son took over those parts and opened 12 ice cream restaurant parlors with two friends. By 1979 these restaurant parlors of ice cream were sold and the partnership dissolved. Many of these privately owned parlors continue to have "House of Flavors" in their names. Because of the partnership breakup of Bob Neal Jr. and his friends, the original company focused on grocery store distributorships and co-packing ice cream for other companies. This business philosophy proved to be successful overall. Of as 2016 the plant in Ludington for manufacturing ice cream employs about 150 people. There are two remaining restaurant parlors owned and operated by the Neal family, one in downtown Ludington and another in Manistee. These employ some 100 people.<ref name=HouseHistory/> |
The Park Dairy business incorporated in 1964 and changed its name to "House of Flavors" as its permanent name. Bob Sr. started playing a lesser role in the business in the 1970s and semi-retired. His son took over those parts and opened 12 ice cream restaurant parlors with two friends. By 1979 these restaurant parlors of ice cream were sold and the partnership dissolved. Many of these privately owned parlors continue to have "House of Flavors" in their names. Because of the partnership breakup of Bob Neal Jr. and his friends, the original company focused on grocery store distributorships and co-packing ice cream for other companies. This business philosophy proved to be successful overall. Of as 2016 the plant in Ludington for manufacturing ice cream employs about 150 people. There are two remaining restaurant parlors owned and operated by the Neal family, one in downtown Ludington and another in Manistee. These employ some 100 people.<ref name=HouseHistory/> |
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A famous House of Flavors’ contribution to ice cream folklore is the "Blue Moon" ice cream of a distinctly bright blue color. The blue ice cream flavor unique to the [[Upper Midwest]] of the United States is a flavor of ice cream that the House of Flavors, as the previous "Park Dairy" company, had in the 1930s. The flavor is so traditional to the House of Flavors business that it created in 1996 the ice cream cone mascot Mr. Moonie. They claim to be the first ice cream company to have made the [[Blue Moon (ice cream)|Blue Moon ice cream]].<ref name=BlueMoon/> They made this [[midwestern United States]] favorite in 1935 when their name was Miller Dairy.<ref name=ClainToFame>{{cite web |url=http://businessanniversaries.com/house-flavors-celebrates-66-years/ |title=Claim to Fame |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=Oct 2014 |website= |publisher= Business Anniversaries |access-date=June 5, 2016 |quote=}}</ref> |
A famous House of Flavors’ contribution to ice cream folklore is the "Blue Moon" ice cream of a distinctly bright blue color. The blue ice cream flavor unique to the [[Upper Midwest]] of the United States is a flavor of ice cream that the House of Flavors, as the previous "Park Dairy" company, had in the 1930s. The flavor is so traditional to the House of Flavors business that it created in 1996 the ice cream cone mascot Mr. Moonie. They claim to be the first ice cream company to have made the [[Blue Moon (ice cream)|Blue Moon ice cream]].<ref name=BlueMoon/> They made this [[midwestern United States]] favorite in 1935 when their name was Miller Dairy.<ref name=ClainToFame>{{cite web |url=http://businessanniversaries.com/house-flavors-celebrates-66-years/ |title=Claim to Fame |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=Oct 2014 |website= |publisher= Business Anniversaries |access-date=June 5, 2016 |quote=House of Flavors’ claim to ice cream fame is creating the Midwest favorite: Blue Moon ice cream. They began making this signature flavor in 1935, when House of Flavors was then Miller Dairy. Today, the Blue Moon ice cream ingredients remain a secret, but the flavor is deliciously distinct and iconic.}}</ref> |
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The House of Flavors ice cream parlor is also a family restaurant and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The atmosphere is set up in a 1950s nostalgia theme, complete with retro bar stools, jukebox, [[petticoat]]s and 45 vinyl records hanging from the ceiling. They serve traditional old fashion American diner food like meat loaf, hot turkey, specialty sandwiches and homemade soups.<ref name=ClainToFame/>{{sfn|Forster|2009|p=117}}{{sfn|Royce|2007|p=162}} |
The House of Flavors ice cream parlor is also a family restaurant and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The atmosphere is set up in a 1950s nostalgia theme, complete with retro bar stools, jukebox, [[petticoat]]s and 45 vinyl records hanging from the ceiling. They serve traditional old fashion American diner food like meat loaf, hot turkey, specialty sandwiches and homemade soups.<ref name=ClainToFame/>{{sfn|Forster|2009|p=117}}{{sfn|Royce|2007|p=162}} |
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Revision as of 10:36, 7 June 2016
The House of Flavors is Michigan’s largest ice cream manufacturer under one roof and Michigan’s biggest private-label ice cream manufacturer. It sells their ice cream nationally throughout the United States. There is a 1950s themed ice cream parlor and restaurant in front of the plant.
Background history
The history of the House of Flavors ice cream manufacturer starts with the history of Miller Dairy in 1929 when Guy W. Hawley owned the original dairy business. Al Miller bought part of the dairy in the mid-1930s.[1] The dairy company in the 1940s processed "homogenized" milk,[2][3] butter, buttermilk and cottage cheese. They also made some ice cream that came in five flavors - vanilla, French vanilla, chocolate, lemon, and blue moon. The hard ice cream was packaged in five-gallon containers made of metal. In 1948 Robert B. Neal ("Bob" Sr.) relocated with his family to Ludington from Grand Haven, Michigan. Neal, who already had a decade of dairy experience, bought a substantial part of the Miller Dairy business soon after he arrived and formed a partnership. The name of Miller's dairy was changed to Park Dairy, since it was close to the main city park, and Bob Sr. became its general manager.[4][5]
Neal decided to retire in 1959. The business then quit processing milk and butter. It concentrated all its efforts to just making ice cream. Neal's son (Bob Jr.) was attending Michigan State University at the time. He graduated in 1961 with a degree in Dairy Technology. He then joined as a partner with his father and became plant manager of Park Dairy. The original packaging plant in Ludington then remodeled to a state-of-the-art facility. After the updating of the equipment it had a larger variety of ice cream flavors and could produce up to 600 gallons an hour.[5]
Name change
The Park Dairy business incorporated in 1964 and changed its name to "House of Flavors" as its permanent name. Bob Sr. started playing a lesser role in the business in the 1970s and semi-retired. His son took over those parts and opened 12 ice cream restaurant parlors with two friends. By 1979 these restaurant parlors of ice cream were sold and the partnership dissolved. Many of these privately owned parlors continue to have "House of Flavors" in their names. Because of the partnership breakup of Bob Neal Jr. and his friends, the original company focused on grocery store distributorships and co-packing ice cream for other companies. This business philosophy proved to be successful overall. Of as 2016 the plant in Ludington for manufacturing ice cream employs about 150 people. There are two remaining restaurant parlors owned and operated by the Neal family, one in downtown Ludington and another in Manistee. These employ some 100 people.[5]
A famous House of Flavors’ contribution to ice cream folklore is the "Blue Moon" ice cream of a distinctly bright blue color. The blue ice cream flavor unique to the Upper Midwest of the United States is a flavor of ice cream that the House of Flavors, as the previous "Park Dairy" company, had in the 1930s. The flavor is so traditional to the House of Flavors business that it created in 1996 the ice cream cone mascot Mr. Moonie. They claim to be the first ice cream company to have made the Blue Moon ice cream.[6] They made this midwestern United States favorite in 1935 when their name was Miller Dairy.[7]
The House of Flavors ice cream parlor is also a family restaurant and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The atmosphere is set up in a 1950s nostalgia theme, complete with retro bar stools, jukebox, petticoats and 45 vinyl records hanging from the ceiling. They serve traditional old fashion American diner food like meat loaf, hot turkey, specialty sandwiches and homemade soups.[7][8][9]
Production
The House of Flavors says the first step in making ice cream begins with a mix prepared of milk and cream. Sugar and cocoa are then added. The mix is transferred into a large storage holding tank. Later the liquid mix is processed further by being drawn into flavor vats that have individual recipes. Each flavor vat can hold up to 1600 gallons of the flavored ice cream mix. It is then sent through a large arrangement of pipes to ice cream freezers. The cream mix goes into the barrel of the freezer and then cooled quickly. Air is added and the soft ice cream is pushed out into more pipes to a packaging filler. On its way, additional flavoring ingredients like peanuts, chocolate chips, and candy are introduced to the ice cream mix through a feeder.[5]
The prepared mix is packaged in containers and sent on a conveyor to a freezer where it become hard ice cream. The freezing process is quick and it takes a few hours for the soft mix to become hard. The temperature reaches as low as 100 degrees below zero counting the wind chill factor. The hard ice cream containers are stacked on pallets ready shipping out. The House of Flavors plant in Ludington currently produces approximately 6000 gallons of ice cream per hour of operation. This equates to 100,000 gallons a day and 600,000 gallons of ice cream per week. They make enough ice cream to fill 36 Olympic-size swimming pools per year - 24 million gallons.[6] The House of Flavor is the largest private-label manufacturer of ice cream in the state of Michigan.[10] It produces 3,400 different recipes of ice cream for its customers throughout the United States.[11] The complete production facilities are all under one roof.[12][13]
Pictures of facilities
References
- ^ Williams, Leonore P. (February 28, 1953). "Industry on Parade - Park Dairy". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Drink Homogenized Milk". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. July 21, 1942 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Happy Birthday to You - Park Dairy!". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. January 29, 1952 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Robert B. Neal is New Manager of Park Dairy". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. May 27, 1948 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ a b c d "House of Flavors / Our History In Ludington". House of Flavors. 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "House of Flavors, Ludington's famous ice cream turns 65". Local news by local folks. MasonCountyPress.com. 2016.
- ^ a b "Claim to Fame". Business Anniversaries. Oct 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
House of Flavors' claim to ice cream fame is creating the Midwest favorite: Blue Moon ice cream. They began making this signature flavor in 1935, when House of Flavors was then Miller Dairy. Today, the Blue Moon ice cream ingredients remain a secret, but the flavor is deliciously distinct and iconic.
- ^ Forster 2009, p. 117.
- ^ Royce 2007, p. 162.
- ^ "Ice cream maker House of Flavors sells 25 million gallons under many names". Gatehouse Media. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Ludington, House of Flavors to attempt to break Guinness World Record for Longest Ice Cream Dessert June 11". Ludington Daily News online. Shoreline Media Group. February 26, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Celebrating 65 Years with House of Flavors". WZZM 13 On Your Side. WZZM channel 13. May 31, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ Boals, Patti (October 1, 1997). "New Machinery should help House of Flavors to continue to Grow into the Future". Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
Sources
- Forster, Matt (1 June 2009). Backroads & Byways of Michigan: Drives, Day Trips & Weekend Excursions (Backroads & Byways). Countryman Press. ISBN 978-0-88150-831-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Royce, Julie Albrecht (1 March 2007). Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast. Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59858-321-2.
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External links
