Baskin-Robbins celebrates 70 years and way more than 31 flavors
Balloons, balloons and more balloons signaled a birthday party at the Baskin-Robbins store on South Victory Boulevard Tuesday afternoon.
Helium foil balloons had their strings tied with ribbons to hand rails and tent poles, while big latex balloons floated high in the sky tethered by fishing line, and face-painted children carried balloons shaped like hearts.
Tommy Loffarelli, enjoying a banana split and root beer float made with pistachio ice cream, said the round shape is a key part of the brand’s image.
The Burbank resident said he took a marketing class taught by Ralph Carson, one of the ad men of Carson/Roberts, who told the class about advising the ice cream shop founders, Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins, to use a round, balloon-like logo because it’s a more fun design and attractive to kids. That was in the 1950s, when the idea for 31 flavors, one for every day of the month, was also born.
Dunkin the bulldog enjoys some ice cream during Baskin-Robbins 70th anniversary celebration at the franchise on Victory Boulevard in Burbank on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015.
Loffarelli, 61, said the story from his teens, when he was a student at the University of Southern California, stuck with him because he liked the professor, but also because “I could relate with Baskin-Robbins because I used the product.” Loffarellis was one of many area residents at the ice cream store to help celebrate the brand’s 70th anniversary.
Robbins founded what would become the Baskin-Robbins in Glendale as Snowbird Ice Cream in December 1945, following his discharge from the Army, with $6,000 from a cashed-in insurance policy he’d received form his father for his bar mitzvah. At the time, he served 21 flavors.
A year later, he convinced Baskin, his brother-in-law, to get into the ice cream business after he got out of the Navy, and Burton’s Ice Cream Shop in Pasadena was born. By 1948, they two had six stores between them, and they eventually decided to sell the stores to the store managers and begin franchising.
At the birthday party, with an audience of dozens of Baskin-Robbins employees, current and former, and locals who came for discounted treats, Shirley Baskin, Robbins’ sister and Burt Baskin’s wife, said she was there for the opening of her husband’s first store and was responsible for counting the day’s revenues — “maybe 50 cents” — which he brought home in a brown paper bag.
“I couldn’t possibly, at that time, have dreamt what would happen,” she said. “It took a lot of hard work.”
Shirley Baskin, who said her favorite flavor is Rocky Road, said it took a while before the store had any double-digit days, but the proprietors loved what they did.
With director of operations Andy Hasson looking on at left,Shirley Baskin, wife of Baskin-Robbins co-founder Burt Baskin, and franchise owner Baruzh Tirityan cut the cake during Baskin-Robbins 70th anniversary celebration at the franchise on Victory Boulevard in Burbank on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015.
Known for its 31 flavors, the company has created more than 1,300 varieties of ice cream since 1945, for everything from the moon landing — Lunar Cheesecake — to the British Invasion — Beatle Nut — and from Miami Vice — Miami Ice — to the Sharknado movie phenomenon — Snacknado.
But the company doesn’t just scoop up ice cream, said Andy Hasson, director of operations, it serves up “fun, smiles, memories.”
Burbank Mayor Bob Frutos, who presented the company with a certificate, said he has memories of driving with his wife in a limited edition Camaro and stopping for rainbow sherbet in a sugar cone.
Richard Baskin, the ice cream entrepreneur’s son, said he recalled as a 5-year-old watching his mom fill out, by hand, the ice cream birthday cards that were sent to children, granting them a free scoop. He also remembered when he got a little older and started working for the company, causing mishaps involving thousands of gallons of spilled ice cream reminiscent of “I Love Lucy.”
Another memory he shared was his arrival in Russia shortly after the end of the Cold War, seeing a sign at the airport that read, “Welcome to Moscow, Baskin-Robbins.”
The company now has 7,600 locations in 50 countries. It’s headquartered in Canton, Mass., as part of the Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc., but the Burbank location is its flagship store and training center.
Shirley Baskin said it’s been a “wonderful, wonderful trip” and thanked the Baskin-Robbins employees who had been a part of it.
“I’m so proud of all of you,” she said. “Believe me, it takes a lot of hard work, but we want it to be fun.”
