photo by: AdobeStock

A Braum's restaurant sign is shown in Arkansas.

Perhaps fans of a certain California winery may remember its 1970s commercials with the tagline of “We will sell no wine before its time.” (Or perhaps you were really big fans and don’t remember the commercials . . . or the decade.) Regardless, the saying may also apply to ice cream and the regional restaurant chain Braum’s.

We’ve been reporting since 2023 that the Oklahoma-based hamburger and ice cream chain Braum’s has purchased land and filed a site plan for a store in northwest Lawrence near Rock Chalk Park. But as we near the three-year mark of that announcement, no store has been built nor dirt moved to start construction.

However, hope (mainly of butter brickle) springs eternal in 2026. Costco has filed plans to also build next to Rock Chalk Park, in the very same development where Braum’s owns property. Surely, the huge amounts of traffic that the discount, wholesale club is expected to bring to the area would cause Braum’s to start construction on its Lawrence store.

Alas, it still seems it is not yet time for Braum’s.

“There are no plans for any stores in Kansas in 2026,” Braum’s public relations director Amanda Beuchaw told me via email recently.

That’s significant for Lawrence, but also Topeka, a community where the company also has purchased property for a future store.

Further, Beuchaw told me that she didn’t have any timeline to share for when Braum’s plans to build a store in Lawrence. In other words, if Braum’s has a multiyear plan for store construction — as many such businesses do — it is not yet ready to say that Lawrence is on it.

The company has stores in many Kansas communities, but not this far north. The company has long said it would not locate stores farther than 300 miles from its dairy and ice cream plant in Tuttle, Oklahoma. Lawrence is about 350 miles from that dairy, so it was a bit of a surprise when Braum’s purchased the land and filed plans at City Hall for a Lawrence restaurant in May 2023.

Maybe that distance remains a hang up or maybe it is something else. It has not been, however, the city and its development approval process. The site Braum’s purchased was already zoned for commercial development, and it is not like Braum’s plans have ever been voted down by the city.

While 2026 may not be the year for Braum’s in Lawrence, you have to think the Lawrence location will be on the mind of Braum’s officials. The piece of property that Braum’s purchased is not only right along Sixth Street but also is at the corner of Entrada Drive. That short street is going to be one of the main entrances into Costco. It will be a high-traffic location, and that usually is music to the ears of fast-food chains.

There likely will be other businesses to report on in 2026 who are not waiting to get in next to Costco. There are about a dozen commercially-zoned lots already platted in the development — called Mercato — that will house Costco. My understanding is that interest has been high from businesses now that Costco has chosen Lawrence and recently filed for a building permit.

We do know one business that is expected to locate there this year. Truity Credit Union, which like Braum’s bought property in the development a few years ago, has a sign on its site saying it will open a branch there in 2026.

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photo by: Contributed

Ice cream and waffle cones from Betty Rae’s are pictured.

If it were true that there was actually a right and wrong time for ice cream, I would break my watch. Fortunately, anytime is a good time for ice cream, and Lawrence does have a new offering.

You may remember that we reported in July that Betty Rae’s Ice Cream chain had filed plans at City Hall to locate in Lawrence. Well, the heat of the summer came and went without its arrival, but it is in place now.

Betty Rae’s is hosting a grand opening for its first Lawrence store on Saturday and Sunday. The store is located at 4821 W. Sixth Street in the shopping center that is just west of the Sixth and Wakarusa Dillons store.

Even more precisely, the store is located next door to City Wine Market. That makes sense because the owner of the Betty Rae’s franchise in Lawrence is the longtime Lawrence family of Steve, Susie and Ben Wilson, which also are owners and operators of City Wine Market.

As for what to expect from Betty Rae’s, the store’s calling card is 26 flavors of homemade, hand-dipped ice cream. The flavor selections include all the standards, but also include some more speciality creations such as a lavender and honey variety and an offering that features goat cheese, apricot swirls and candied walnuts. Flavor offerings also change with the seasons.

The Lawrence location is an expansion outside of the company’s core market of Kansas City, where it got its start by serving crowds in the popular Waldo entertainment district. The company offered its first franchise locations in Omaha. Lawrence is the first Kansas community outside of the KC metro for the company, but it is working to expand into others. The company has listed Wichita as a future expansion market, in addition to St. Louis, Denver, Oklahoma City and several other communities.