A Beloved Old-School Ice Cream Chain May Be Closing Hundreds Of Locations - Here's Why

You might not be familiar with Thrifty Ice Cream, but on the west coast, the brand is an old school cult classic. Owned by Thrifty Drug Store, the ice cream was originally sold out of dedicated counters within the drug stores. Thrifty has made its own small batch ice cream in the Los Angeles area since 1940, and by the 1970s it was a regional icon, thanks in part to its signature cylindrical ice cream scoops and unusual flavors. But in 1996 Rite Aid bought Thrifty Drug Store and its ice cream business, a move which may have ultimately contributed to its current economic troubles.

Rite Aid recently filed for bankruptcy, its second such filing in two years. And while the brand searches for a buyer, hundreds of locations nationwide have closed or are slated to close, including many in Thrifty's home state of California — putting the 85 year old ice cream classic in peril.

Reporting suggests that the Rite Aid bankruptcy would prompt the closure of about 500 Thrifty Ice Cream counters inside those businesses. However, Rite Aid plans to attempt to sell Thrifty Ice Cream, and while retail analysts suggest that Rite Aid is likely to be bought up piecemeal by several competitors — you can still find Thrifty Ice Cream in the freezer section of major markets like Vons and Albertsons — the future of its famous ice cream counters and the brand as a whole remain in serious doubt.

Even if Rite Aid closes all of its Thrifty Ice Cream counters inside its stores, it may not be the end of the cylindrical scoop serving counters. Several Thrifty Ice Cream locations are reportedly franchised independent of Rite Aid, and it's possible that these independent franchisers survive, or that a buyer of the brand could launch an expansion based on the franchise model.

Thrifty is far from the only ice cream company to be roiled by the times. Friendly's is still struggling with restaurant closures and poor customer reviews after years of disappointing business. Perhaps one glimmer of hope for Thrifty given that it's sold in supermarkets is that Friendly's ice cream has remained available at retail stores despite the restaurants' years of struggle.

Dairy Queen also faces major changes in 2025, including a rash of unexpected store closures in Texas, one of its biggest markets. But unlike Thrifty, Dairy Queen is in a much stronger position to absorb those losses with over 7,700 stores worldwide, many of them being standalone businesses. While the future of Thrifty Ice Cream is up in the air, you can still get your fix at fellow old-school ice cream legends Graeter's and Baskin-Robbins, both of which are our list of the 21 top ice cream brands.