High's Dairy Store
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
High's Dairy Stores is a chain of convenience stores in Maryland and Delaware. It once had locations in Virginia, and Washington, D.C. as well, which have been converted to 7-Elevens. The company is based in Hanover, Maryland[1].
[edit] History
It was founded as High’s Ice Cream by L.W. High in Richmond, Virginia in 1932 and purchased by James R. Gregory, Jr. (1914-1994) with two partners in 1938, at which time there were 16 stores and an ice cream plant in Richmond. In 1941, Convenient Systems, Inc. of Winston-Salem, North Carolina purchased the chain, then numbering 50 stores. Gregory remained at the helm until 1976. The company was acquried by the Capital Milk Producers Cooperative, who grew the chain to 350 High's Dairy Stores and Restaurants, and sold the Virginia stores in 1987 to Southland Corporation (owners of the 7-Eleven chain). Many High's sell Citgo and Shell gasoline. High's still features hand-dipped ice cream as well as other dairy products. The company now has over 80 stores in Maryland and Delaware.
[edit] Ice cream
The right to produce High's brand of ice cream was sold in 1989 to Kay's Ice Cream, based in Knoxville, Tennessee (which was subsequently acquired by C.F. Sauer Corporation in 1990). The company no longer manufactures High's brand of ice cream. However, there is one High's Ice Cream parlor left in Portsmouth, Virginia.
