David and Hannah Lindner operated a dairy in Dayton, Ohio, for 9 years before moving to Indianapolis in 1929, where David and brother Carl opened an ice cream business, originally Lindner’s Brothers, in May of that year. The store could not support both families, and Carl withdrew after a short time.

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Lindner ice cream factory, ca. 1940 Credit: The Indiana Album: Dixie Coghill Collection View Source

The family kept the business following David’s death in 1940, and in 1949 Lindner’s opened its first successful branch. By 1968 it had 27 locations. During the year the store produced nearly 100 flavors of ice cream, with 25 always available.

In 1982, there were 36 Lindner’s stores in Marion County and the surrounding area when son David Lindner, who owned the business, sold it to Roberts Dairy as a subsidiary. Roberts filed for bankruptcy reorganization in May 1987, and while Lindner’s was not included in the bankruptcy, the debt incurred by acquiring Lindner’s was among Roberts’ liabilities.

Lindner’s filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in October 1989, and Friendly Foods, also a subsidiary of Roberts, began operating the 15 remaining stores in December. Friendly Foods terminated the agreement less than a month later and seized the properties in late January 1990, as payment for its secured debt. The last seven Lindner’s stores closed in January 1992.

Revised February 2021
 

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