Summer is synonymous with ice cream, and growing up in Los Angeles, my siblings and I spent our days off school walking to our local Rite Aid for Thrifty Ice Cream. Unfortunately, the chain drugstore filed for bankruptcy this month and announced hundreds of store closures, which means Rite Aid’s Thrifty ice cream — which is both sold in tubs and served from a counter in most stores — may be gone soon, too.
What is Rite Aid Thrifty Ice Cream?
Thrifty Ice Cream originated in the 1940s at a small factory in West Hollywood, California to be sold alongside fountain soda at Thrifty Drug Store. The drug store — including the ice cream brand — was acquired by Rite Aid in the 1990s, and stores still sell Thrifty Ice Cream today. In addition to selling ice cream by the pint and quart in the freezer section, Rite Aid also has Thrifty ice cream counters at some of its locations, many of which are on the West Coast.
Since Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy, most of the company’s assets — including Thrifty Ice Cream — will be sold at auction in June. While customers might have to give up the iconic counter experience, there’s still a chance that Thrifty Ice Cream won’t be gone entirely.
Why is Thrifty Ice Cream so good?
You know how people say that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups taste better as shapes? Thrifty Ice Cream is the same. Beyond a plethora of incredible flavors including classics like Rocky Road, Butter Pecan, and Rainbow Sherbet, plus my childhood staples Blueberry Cheesecake and Cherry Chip, the shape of a Thrifty scoop arguably makes the ice cream superior. Rather than a typical round ice cream scooper, Thrifty Ice Cream counters use a specific trigger-powered scoop that creates cylinder-shaped scoops of ice cream.
The cylindrical ice cream scoops taste amazing and stack perfectly on a cone or in a cup, but beyond the shape, the price of Thrifty scoops are almost unbeatable. In 1975, a single scoop was just five cents — or 15 for a triple scoop; now, a single scoop averages for $2.50.
Can I still get Thrifty Ice Cream?
Although many stores are preparing to close, the pharmacy’s website says that some Rite Aid locations still maintain Thrifty Ice Cream counters. But, it’s unknown how many counters are still open, since Thrifty’s website no longer lists specific counter locations. For now, though, we do know that Thrifty scoops are available at some Rite Aid stores in California and Arizona, and, according to Thrifty’s website, other regions of the United States and Mexico.
While Thrifty Ice Cream is arguably best from the in-store counters (and, notoriously well-priced), the brand is also sold in cartons at Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and other grocers. Plus, Thrifty’s website says that the company works with multiple retailers and individual distributors, too, so there’s still hope that the brand will be available beyond Rite Aid’s closure.
And even though we may be robbed of a true Thrifty Ice Cream counter experience, the iconic cylindrical scoop is available on Amazon — so head to your local Albertsons for a pint of Thrifty ice cream, grab a scooper online, and channel all of the nostalgia.