Borden Ice Cream

What Borden Ice Cream does

Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe operates a single retail ice cream parlor at 1103 Jefferson St in Lafayette, Louisiana, and markets itself as the last remaining retail Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe in the world. The shop serves walk-in individual consumers and families seeking traditional ice cream treats, including banana splits, nachos, and other classic menu items, prepared using methods the brand describes as old-fashioned. Operating hours are extended, including weekday lunch through late evening and weekend daytime, supporting its positioning as a destination for both casual visits and special-occasion celebrations.

The business is privately held by the Lerille family, who purchased the shop from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette foundation in 2009. The predecessor operator, the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now ULL), had inherited the parlor in 1981; the original storefront dates to 1940. The company has no parent, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds, and no online ordering, delivery, or third-party distribution channels. Revenue is generated entirely through point-of-sale transactions at the single physical storefront, with no publicly disclosed pricing.

Core technology is traditional ice cream making; there is no proprietary software, no app, no e-commerce platform, and no API. The site is a basic informational website with pages for menu, history, and contact, and distribution channels are limited to the brick-and-mortar retail location. The company's value proposition rests on brand heritage, exclusivity (last-of-its-kind), and nostalgia, rather than on technology or scalable distribution.

Name

Borden Ice Cream

Legal name

Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe

Website

https://bordensicecreamshoppe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1940

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe operates a single retail ice cream parlor in Lafayette, Louisiana, selling traditional handcrafted ice cream and classic treats to walk-in families and individuals seeking a nostalgic, old-fashioned experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ice Cream Parlor

NAICS

Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Cream & Gelato Shops (THAFAGAA)

Keywords

• Traditional ice cream
• Frozen desserts
• Ice cream parlor
• Banana splits
• Family dessert shop

Headquarters

HQ city

Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Ice Cream Sales: Direct retail sales of ice cream and related treats (banana splits, nachos, and other menu items) to consumers at the physical storefront location. Revenue is generated through point-of-sale transactions with customers visiting the shop.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe operates as a single-location traditional ice cream parlor that sells handcrafted ice cream made "the Old Fashion Way" along with classic American sweet treats such as banana splits and nachos. The shop markets itself as the last remaining retail Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe in the world, serving walk-in consumers and families in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Product overview

Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe operates as a single-location traditional ice cream parlor, offering handcrafted ice cream made 'the Old Fashion Way' along with classic American diner-style treats. The company positions itself as the last remaining Borden's retail shop worldwide, providing a family-friendly dining experience with menu items including banana splits and nachos.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe retail experience Single-location traditional ice cream parlor offering handcrafted ice cream and classic American sweet treats such as banana splits and nachos, targeted at families and individual consumers in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Lerille FamilyminorOthers · 1 January 2009In 2009, the Lerille family purchased the ice cream shop from the ULL foundation, becoming the current owners and operators of Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe. This family ownership maintains the traditional approach to ice cream making.
• University of Louisiana at Lafayette (formerly University of Southwestern Louisiana)minorOthers · 1 January 1981In 1981, the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) inherited the ice cream parlor located on Johnston St in Lafayette, Louisiana. The university maintained ownership for nearly three decades before selling the business.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Broad incumbents

• Cold Stone Creamery: Cold Stone Creamery is a national franchise ice cream parlor chain known for made-to-order creations. It competes in the same 'ice cream shop' category as Borden's but operates at much greater scale and with a standardized menu rather than a heritage single-location model.
• Baskin-Robbins: Baskin-Robbins is the world's largest specialty ice cream chain with thousands of franchised storefronts. While it serves a similar product (ice cream, ice cream cakes, novelty treats) through retail shops, it is a mass-market incumbent rather than a heritage independent like Borden's.
• Dairy Queen: Dairy Queen is a broad quick-service incumbent offering soft-serve ice cream, Blizzard treats, and cones through thousands of franchised locations. It is a direct category peer to Borden's Ice Cream & Gelato Shop classification but operates at massive national scale rather than as a heritage independent.
• Häagen-Dazs: Häagen-Dazs is a globally recognized premium ice cream brand with scoop shops in tourist and high-traffic locations. It overlaps with Borden's at the premium retail ice cream category but operates at global brand scale with broad distribution rather than as a heritage single location.

Direct peers

• Marble Slab Creamery: Marble Slab Creamery is a franchised ice cream parlor chain offering made-to-order frozen treats on a cold stone. It directly competes with Borden's in the made-to-order ice cream shop format, though at franchise scale rather than as a heritage single-location independent.
• Kilwins: Kilwins is a heritage chocolate, fudge, and ice cream shop franchise with a nostalgic, old-fashioned positioning comparable to Borden's. Both brands lean on community-rooted, family-friendly retail experiences rather than mass-market speed.
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams: Jeni's is a premium small-batch ice cream shop chain emphasizing artisanal flavors and direct-to-consumer retail. It shares Borden's positioning around craft, small-batch, and experiential ice cream but has scaled to multiple scoop shops and wholesale grocery distribution.
• Salt & Straw: Salt & Straw is a craft ice cream parlor chain with a heritage, small-batch, and family-friendly positioning very similar to Borden's. It competes in the same premium independent scoop-shop category and has built a recognizable experiential brand from a single-origin story.
• Graeter's: Graeter's is a heritage, family-owned ice cream brand and scoop shop chain operating retail stores primarily in the Midwest. It mirrors Borden's positioning as a long-standing, family-owned ice cream maker with both scoop shops and retail packaged ice cream distribution.

Emerging players

• Ample Hills Creamery: Ample Hills Creamery is a craft scoop shop brand that grew from a single Brooklyn parlor into multiple locations, sharing Borden's narrative arc of a small-batch independent scaling via retail storefronts. It represents the type of growth trajectory an outside investor or partner could pursue with the Borden's heritage story.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/borden-ice-cream

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Borden Ice Cream