Conway Planning Commission approves Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store permit

CONWAY, Ark. – A vote by the Conway Planning Commission has opened the door for a popular ice cream vendor to move into the city.

The commission, in a unanimous vote, approved a conditional use permit for Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store for an intersection on the city’s west side. The store will be adjacent one of the city’s characteristic roundabouts at Prince Street and Farris Road, next door to a planned Mexican restaurant.

Propose Braum's site approved by Conway Planning Commission.

The company was represented before the commission by Conway attorney Frank Shaw. Shaw said that the permit request had open hours from 5 a.m. to midnight, but that the store would not be open to the public during those hours.

Shaw pointed out, and the commission discussed, that the open hours would allow time for the staff to arrive and prepare for opening, and to clean up after closing. One commission member said she had checked for other Braum’s in the region, and none were open past 10:45 p.m.

The permit listed 1,766 vehicles per weekday arriving and departing the business.

A January request before the commission for a Whataburger at the same site was refused due to concerns about that business’s 24/7 traffic. A nearby homeowner who had spoken against the Whataburger permit told the commission he favored a Braum’s at the site.

Shaw spoke to the commission about the quality of Braum’s product, including its using milk from its Tuttle, Oklahoma, dairies to make its ice cream. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

This will be the first central Arkansas Braum’s. The chain has 13 stores in the Natural State in the west and northwest, with the currently nearest in Alma.

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