Iconic Thrifty ice cream counters fade into memory with Rite Aid store closures
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Like many who grew up in Southern California, Thrifty ice cream was a staple throughout my youth.
Sure, McDonald’s offered $1 smooth and airy soft serve cones (the machines seemed to work back then!) and Baskin-Robbins was lauded for its 31 flavors. However, Thrifty was the perfect middleman for my working-class family, offering nearly the latter’s variety at close to the former’s pricing.
It’s the place I fell in love with Rocky Road, never imagining you could fit so many distinct flavors and textures — chocolate, nuts and marshmallows — into a single sugar cone scoop.
The days of enjoying a few scoops at Thrifty’s counters, purchased by Rite Aid in 1996, throughout SoCal appear to be ending.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced a slew of store closures, including more than 20 locations in California. Those not closed will probably be sold off by Rite Aid.
My colleague, food columnist Jenn Harris, strolled into the El Segundo Rite Aid to investigate what’s next for the iconic cold treat.
Thrifty’s Los Angeles history
Brothers Harry and Robert Borun and their brother-in-law Norman Levin opened the first Thrifty drugstore in downtown Los Angeles in 1929.
At first, they sold ice cream from various suppliers. However, as demand for the product grew, the brothers started producing the ice cream themselves.
They opened the first Thrifty ice cream production plant in Hollywood in 1940. The plant relocated to a 55,000-square-foot facility in El Monte in 1976.
The scoop on Rite Aid’s future and that of Thrifty ice cream
Thrifty ice cream, like all of Rite Aid’s assets, will probably be sold.
It nearly happened in 2018, when Albertsons Cos. was set to acquire Rite Aid, and with it, Thrifty ice cream and the El Monte plant. But the deal never happened.
Rite Aid did not provide any additional info when Harris reached out to them.
Where to go if/when you need that Thrifty’s ice cream fix
There’s also the possibility of finding the ice cream at a local restaurant.
Ball Park Pizza in San Clemente has been serving Thrifty ice cream since it opened in 2014.
And now that Thrifty sells its signature cylindrical ice cream scooper (around $30), you could buy a pint at one of the dozens of retailers who carry the ice cream in the freezer aisle, and scoop your own ice cream at home.
Does it taste as good at home as it did at the counter?
Harris staged a taste test.
After visiting two Rite Aid locations, she found a store that carried the Chocolate Malted Krunch flavor in both the scoop shop and the freezer section.
She purchased a scoop at the counter, then bought a box of Joy cake cones near the register and a 48-ounce carton of the same ice cream and headed to the parking lot.
She then used her Thrifty cylindrical scoop to craft her perfect scoop of ice cream and made her own cone.
Both were eaten in quick succession.
I’ll let Harris explain the rest:
“The pre-packaged stuff was airier, like ice cream foam that melted slower on the tongue. The malt balls felt sluggish, their crunch muted by the time spent in the freezer. The flecks of dark chocolate less abundant.
“The cone from the scoop counter tasted both richer and creamier with a thicker consistency. There were crunchier malt balls in each bite. Even outside in the parking lot, beyond the comforts of the As Seen on TV aisle, it was noticeably better.”
While Thrifty may continue to produce ice cream in tubs, the counter scoop — apparently the better option — is down to its last licks at Rite Aids. It be worth one last visit soon.
For Harris’ full breakdown, check out her article.
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For your weekend
Going out
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- Explore: Dine with history at L.A.’s landmark restaurants, founded in 1935 or earlier.
Staying in
- Review: Five 20-something friends are at the center of FX’s new comedy, “Adults,” which debuted this week.
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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