High's of Baltimore, LLC, doing business as High's Dairy Stores, is a chain of

gas stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

and

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

s in and around

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. , the chain has 60 locations, the majority of which are in Maryland, plus four in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. At one time, High's was the largest ice cream store in the world with over 500 stores, including locations in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

History

The original iteration of High's was High's Ice Cream, an ice cream parlor founded by L.W. High in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1928 and purchased by James R. High Jr. 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 Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

purchased the chain, then numbering 50 stores. Gregory remained at the helm until 1976. The company was acquired by the Capital Milk Producers Cooperative, who grew the chain to 350 High's Dairy Stores and Restaurants, and sold the Virginia and West Virginia stores in 1987 to

Southland Corporation 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

, who converted many of them to

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

stores, and closed the rest. Fuel at High's gas stations was previously supplied by

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

and

Citgo Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...

. High's first made a foray into proprietary fuel branding in 2011, when it was rolled out at a prototype station in

Chester, Maryland Chester is a census-designated place on Kent Island in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,723 at the 2000 census. Geography Chester is located at (38.971907, −76.288045). According to the United States Cens ...

. On March 1, 2012, High's, then based in

Hanover, Maryland Hanover is an unincorporated community in the Baltimore/Annapolis area in northwestern Anne Arundel County and eastern Howard County in the U.S. state of Maryland, located south of Baltimore. The community is located approximately at the interse ...

, was acquired by the Carroll Independent Fuel Company. Following the Carroll deal, most High's stores broke their ties with Shell and Citgo, began selling High's-branded fuel supplied by Carroll, and underwent remodels. Some High's locations continue to sell Shell-branded fuel. High's is now based in Carroll's Baltimore headquarters.

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 Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

(which was subsequently acquired by

C. F. Sauer Company The C.F. Sauer Company is a cooking products business that makes extracts and other food products. It was founded in 1887 by Conrad Frederick Sauer in Richmond, Virginia, where it maintains its headquarters. History The C.F. Sauer Company was ...

in 1990). Until 2010 there was a High's Ice Cream parlor remaining in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, but it sold Hershey's brand ice cream. At the time of its closing, it still had the original High's interior (though showing its age) including the white and black checkerboard floor tiles that High's Ice Cream stores were known for. High's still sells its own brand of ice cream in quart sized containers, along with several selections of hand dipped varieties.

References

External links

Official website
{{Convenience stores Culture of Baltimore Companies based in Baltimore Economy of the Eastern United States Convenience stores of the United States 1932 establishments in Virginia Retail companies established in 1932 Ice cream parlors in the United States American companies established in 1932