End of an era? Fans worry about Thrifty Ice Cream amid Rite Aid closures
After Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to shutter hundreds of stores earlier in May, the fate of the beloved Thrifty Ice Cream brand remains uncertain.
The ice cream company began out of a small factory in West Hollywood, California, in 1940, before being sold at the now-defunct Thrifty Drug Store, according to Thrifty's website.
In 1996, Rite Aid acquired Thrifty and still maintains ice cream counters at some of its locations, mostly on the West Coast.
As part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, most of Rite Aid's assets — including Thrifty — will be sold, and an auction is set for June 20, according to Reuters. However, it's unclear whether this means Thrifty will go away entirely.
Thrifty Ice Cream and Rite Aid have not immediately returned Paste BN's requests for comment.
What is Thrifty Ice Cream? History of beloved brand
Thrifty Ice Cream began when Thrifty Drug Store owners Harry and Robert Borun and Norman Levin started producing ice cream to sell at their chain's soda fountain, according to its website.
According to Thrifty, the ice cream reached "cult status" on the West Coast by the 1970s and had "significant celebrity shoutouts."
For years, patrons of the drug store could get a signature cylindrical scoop while picking up their prescriptions. Eventually, the company also started producing cartons of their ice cream, which are still sold at retailers including Rite Aid and Albertsons, according to its website.
Thrifty Ice Cream locations
Some Rite Aid locations still offer Thrifty Ice Cream scoops, according to the pharmacy's website.
As of May 30, Thrifty's website no longer lists its specific locations, so it's unknown how many are still open.
Thrifty's website does say counters are open in California, Arizona, and other areas of the United States and Mexico.
Cartons of the ice cream are still sold at some grocery stores, and Thrifty says on its website that it works with several individual distributors and retailers as well.
'End of an era:' Thrifty Ice Cream fans react to possible closure
With Thrifty Ice Cream's future hanging in the balance, some longtime fans of the brand have taken to social media to bid a possible farewell to the scoops.
"For all the people trying to say that you can just go to the market and buy it you're missing the point," one person wrote. "It's the whole experience of walking up to the dipping cabinet salivating over the different flavors and getting that cone with that special thrifty scooper."
Thrifty uses a trigger-powered scoop that creates cylinder-shaped ice cream scoops. The scoop is available for purchase on Amazon.
Another user wrote, "I sure hope that Thrifty ice cream is saved!"
One person who said they are relatives of the brand's founders said they are "sad to think this could be the end of an era."
Contributing: Gabe Hauari, Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Paste BN
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for Paste BN. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.