A college degree in ice cream sounds like a childhood fantasy. For Harry Brathwaite, it was a reality. In the mid 1980s, armed with a degree from the Penn State Ice Cream Program and a lifetime of entrepreneurship, Brathwaite looked over the landscape of the mass-produced ice cream industry, and he found a disappointing quality gap. Brathwaite resolved to turn back the clock to a time of all-natural ice cream frozen freshly. The result was Goodberry’s Frozen Custard, now a Triangle staple that has dotted the area since 1988. Harry has since retired, and his son, Henry Brathwaite, serves as president. Ever eager to carry the torch, the younger Brathwaite is making good on the company’s long-standing desire for in-house production. In 2019, the company launched a new headquarters and dairy processing facility in Wake Forest. Over 33 years of service, Goodberry’s has discovered that the best frozen custard strikes a balance between tradition and innovation. With the launch of their new headquarters in Wake Forest, they are embracing a community that strikes the same balance.
Goodberry’s Frozen Custard makes the Triangle its home
Back in 1987, as Brathwaite’s father and his business partner developed the Goodberry’s concept, they began the site selection process with an eye toward a favorable climate, a stable economy, and a growing market and industry. The Triangle, as they quickly discovered, offers the best of all three. The area averages 220 sunny days per year, with warm summers that stretch well into the “-ember” months. The stable economy is built upon a diversified industry of research and tech development anchored by three top-tier research universities. As for growth, Brathwaite said, “Goodberry’s saw it as an area with potential for the kind of growth we’ve seen over the last 30 years. From a site selection point of view, they really knocked it out of the park.”
Goodberry’s opened its first location in 1988 on the corner of Spring Forest Rd and Atlantic Ave in Raleigh. From this flagship creamery, they expanded across the Triangle, opening their locally beloved Wake Forest retail location in 2002. Along the way, Goodberry’s discovered a creative solution to the wintertime dip in business: expand to the southern hemisphere where the seasons are reversed. While Triangle residents layer up during our coldest months, Residents of Canberra, Australia flock to Goodberry’s for relief from the summer heat.
A unique product of tradition and innovation
So, what has people on both sides of the globe flocking to Goodberry’s? According to Brathwaite, it is the product itself: an all-natural frozen custard that does not cut corners. Goodberry’s makes frozen custard with local milk, local cream, eggs, cane sugar, and honey. No corn syrup, chemical stabilizers, gums, or additives find their way into the product.
Goodberry’s frozen custard turns back the clock, but you might be surprised just how far. Brathwaite explained that the first known ice cream recipe in the United States belonged to Thomas Jefferson, and his recipe was for a frozen custard. Goodberry’s preserves this American tradition in each cup produced, even at great cost. Brathwaite explained, “there are definitely cheaper ways to make ice cream, but we are committed to making what we feel is the best frozen custard possible.”
While Goodberry’s is in many ways stepping back in time with its traditional frozen custard, it is certainly no stranger to innovation. Committed to the principle that “ice cream tastes best when it is fresh frozen,” the company’s proprietary custard freezing machines demonstrate a unique ability to balance tradition and innovation. The Goodberry’s team designed an original frozen custard machine to suit its strict specifications and handle the high demand at each location.
Goodberry’s fulfills long-held vision in Wake Forest
The Goodberry’s company prides itself on the integrity of its product and process. Driven by its desire to make and serve the best frozen custard possible, the company finally achieved its long-held vision for in-house production. After 31 years of partnering with a co-packer that produced its proprietary frozen custard recipe, the company moved to consolidate production. In 2016, Goodberry’s purchased property near S. Main St. in Wake Forest and began designing a multi-purpose space that could house both its corporate offices and production facility. Construction began in 2018, and Goodberry’s moved into its new Wake Forest home in November of 2019. Brathwaite described the launch of its Wake Forest headquarters as a critical step that will allow Goodberry’s the opportunity to expand with new stores and in new areas.
So why did Goodberry’s, a company whose presence spans the Triangle, choose Wake Forest as its new HQ? Brathwaite explained that Wake Forest attracted Goodberry’s with its value, community, and access to the Triangle. Brathwaite shared that he fell in love with Wake Forest as a boy when the Town was a “hidden gem.” Since that time, he has observed the “well-managed growth” in Wake Forest as the Town transformed from a bedroom community to a bedrock of industry and innovation. Today, Wake Forest is a highly regarded, yet invitingly affordable, jewel in the Triangle area, offering a “tremendous value proposition relative to our area at large.” Wake Forest represents a “uniquely vibrant community with a small-town feel and a tremendous quality of life” that Goodberry’s, and countless other companies, find appealing. With excellent infrastructure, Wake Forest offers quick and easy access to the entire Triangle. For Goodberry’s, this ease of access guarantees their ability to successfully manage and supply their creameries.
“Wake Forest offers a lot of what originally attracted us to the Triangle in the first place,” said Brathwaite. In the 1980s, Harry Brathwaite and his partner selected the Triangle for its promising growth prospect. Their prediction proved true, and today, Goodberry’s hopes to capitalize on a similar prospect for Wake Forest. With an emerging tech sector and close-knit community, the Town is growing in value and influence while maintaining its small-town charm.
Community values in a global pandemic
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Goodberry’s is proving its ability to overcome adversity. Only weeks after beginning production in Wake Forest, the global crisis forced Goodberry’s to quickly adapt. Within six weeks, Goodberry’s resumed full production, supplying its creameries through the crucial summer months.
While Goodberry’s certainly didn’t design their creameries in 1988 with a global pandemic in mind, its outdoor, walk-up design has proved fortuitous in the crisis. “We were fortunate, in that our store architecture and outdoor courtyards made it much less complicated to quickly respond to new safety procedures and restrictions. I have a tremendous admiration for those operators in our industry that faced substantially larger challenges." He added, "In a year where so much changed, and there was so much uncertainty, we were so pleased to be able to continue to offer a small slice of the familiar to the communities we serve. Seeing the smiles on the faces of our patrons, during such a trying time, really sustained us throughout the year." This little slice of normalcy has offered much-needed respite for Triangle residents. Brathwaite shared, “We got a lot of feedback from customers who were thankful to do something that allowed them to reclaim a comforting, family-friendly summer-time activity.”
A source of pride for Wake Forest
With this community-focused mindset, Goodberry’s is in excellent company in Wake Forest. The local business environment attracted Goodberry’s executives as they considered locations for their headquarters, and the company is now eager to make connections with its new neighbors. While Goodberry’s considers the whole Triangle its home, in Wake Forest, they are laying down roots in a town that shares a kindred spirit for tradition, innovation, and hospitality. Goodberry’s aims to deliver its excellent product and service from its headquarters in Wake Forest for years to come, standing as a source of pride for the Town. With this new facility, we're doing something utterly unique, in scale and in scope, within the frozen dessert industry," said Brathwaite, "and we're happy to have this opportunity to introduce it to the residents of Wake Forest. We look forward to continuing to grow with the Town!"
With a brand and product as wholesome and welcoming as Goodberry's, how could a community as friendly as Wake Forest not beam with pride?
