Thrifty Ice Cream closing? How Rite Aid’s bankruptcy and store closures could ruin your favorite summer treat

If you’re an ice cream fan, there’s some bad news: One of America’s most beloved ice cream brands may soon see hundreds of its in-store retail locations vanish just as summer is beginning. Thrifty Ice Cream counters, which are found in hundreds of Rite Aid locations in California and other states, are facing an uncertain future thanks to the pharmacy chain’s most recent bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Thrifty Ice Cream?

Thrifty Ice Cream is an ice cream brand that is owned by the Rite Aid pharmacy chain. The brand was originally founded in 1940 in Los Angeles, where it was sold from soda fountain counters inside the Thrifty Drug Store chain.

The brand is iconic in Los Angeles and throughout California, where its cylindrical ice cream scoops are a summer staple for people who want to cool down with a sweet treat. As the Los Angeles Times reported in 2018, until 1975, a scoop of Thrifty’s ice cream cost as little as five cents, and today scoops cost just a few dollars.  

In 1996, the Rite Aid pharmacy chain bought Thrifty PayLess Inc., the then-owner of the Thrifty pharmacy store and Thrifty ice cream, for $2.3 billion. After the acquisition, Rite Aid operated over 500 Thrifty Ice Cream counters inside its pharmacies, mainly in California.

But now it is likely these Thrifty Ice Cream counter stores-within-a-store are closing.

What will happen to Thrifty Ice Cream?

Over the past several days, reports have emerged indicating that up to 500 Thrifty Ice Cream stores may close. When these reports mention “stores” closing, they are referring to the Thrifty Ice Cream counters found in Rite Aid pharmacy locations.

Rite Aid is currently undergoing its second bankruptcy in as many years, and the pharmacy chain has already announced plans to close hundreds of locations.

It’s important to note that this bankruptcy will mark the end of Rite Aid. All of its stores will either close or be sold to other owners. Locations that that ultimately remain open will no longer be Rite Aid stores. (For example, pharmacy giant CVS has said it will take over 64 physical Rite Aid stores in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.)

In 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that Rite Aid operated more than 500 Thrifty Ice Cream stations; however, the pharmacy chain has significantly reduced its footprint since then, having gone through its first bankruptcy in 2023.

Meanwhile, Thrifty Ice Cream’s online store locator tool appears to be only partially functional as of the time of this writing, so the exact number of locations the brand has is unknown.

Fast Company has reached out to Rite Aid for clarity on how many Thrifty Ice Cream counters are still in operation and what their fate will be amid the bankruptcy process.

But just because Rite Aid is closing locations and filing for bankruptcy, that doesn’t mean Thrifty Ice Cream is necessarily done for good.

After selling off most of its pharmacy assets this month, Rite Aid is expected to hold an auction in June to sell its remaining assets, including the Thrifty brand and the Thrifty Ice Cream factory in El Monte, California.

It’s possible that a buyer could swoop in to scoop up the Thrifty Ice Cream brand. If so, any buyer may continue to operate Thrifty Ice Cream stores. The counters in the closing Rite Aid stores would no longer be an option, but a new buyer would be free to open Thrifty Ice Cream individual stores, or form partnerships with other pharmacies or retailers to run Thrifty Ice Cream counters in their stores.

Thrifty Ice Cream also currently sells its ice cream at retailers including Vons and Albertsons. A buyer may choose to keep the brand alive through retail outlet sales alone.

But for now, all this is just conjecture. We likely won’t know the future of Thrifty Ice Cream until Rite Aid’s bankruptcy is completed, or until next month’s auction.