Bridgeman's has restaurants and outlets throughout the Midwest, though not as many as the chain once had. Many other retailers, however, have franchises that allow them to serve Bridgman's ice cream.
And it all started in Duluth more than a century ago.
In 1883, a young man named Henry Bridgeman started selling fresh milk door to door in Duluth, using a goat cart to haul his product. His business took off and grew to become the largest dairy seller in the Midwest.
His two sons, Chester and Roy, wanting to set out on their own in 1936, opened the first Bridgeman's Ice Creame Shoppe in Duluth.
People thought they were crazy.
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Why in the world would anyone open an ice cream parlor in Minnesota? And why open one during the Great Depression?
But the brothers persisted, and it paid off. They opened five more ice cream parlors in the next 18 months. And the chain grew from there.
As late as 1980, Bridgman milk still was being sold in Duluth. And today, Bridgeman Ice Cream Inc., based in Brooklyn Center, Minn., still is family owned.
Duluth has a full-menu Bridgeman's Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlour at 2202 Mountain Shadow Drive by Miller Hill Mall, and a seasonal Bridgeman's on the Lakewalk in the Fitger's Brewery Complex. Embers Duluth Grill, 118 S. 27th Ave. W., is among the businesses allowed to serve Bridgman's ice cream.
And Bridgeman's by Shelton, a small, old-fashioned ice cream shop, will open soon at 1230 Commonwealth Ave. It will serve Bridgeman's ice cream treats and burgers and fries.
