Thrifty Ice Cream Plant

Now that Rite Aid has closed I have not been able to get some of my favorite Thrifty Ice Cream flavors in the local markets. I called the factory and spoke with a very sweet young lady. She answered all of my questions and encouraged me to call back in the future for updates. It was a pleasure talking with her. I pray the brand brings back the factory tour and opens a store at the plant. That would really be awesome!

I love your Ice Cream. I was so excited to see you had it at a store near me. I got to the register and it rang up $6. It shocked me I never pay more than $3. for Ice cream. Just to let you know it will be the last time.

Please please since rite aid is closing I have no access to my most favorite icecream cherry chip. I'm dying without it. Please start selling it at Vons or something I need it bad.

AMAZING!!! There will always be a place in my heart for Thrifty's Ice Cream

The ice-cream is the best ice-cream I've ever had in my life by the way its his daughter

Very tight driveway for tractor and trailer, not designed for 53 footers. One way in and out. Be prepared to wait to come in if a truck is leaving out. You may be holding up traffic at the 2 way intersection. Been waiting for an hour to get unloaded.

The best ice cream by far. Love that it is made local and sourced local. 💯

😄We visited the Thrifty Ice Cream Plant😋 today and it was a marvelous experience. Mr. Briggs (Tim) who led our tour has been working with the company for approximately 36 years and his love and enthusiasm transpires through his outgoing voice and friendly personality. Personally, as a mother of four children, the only production plants I ever seen have been on television, in programs like Mrs. Rogers Neighborhood or How it's Made. However, today our kind and helpful tour guide Mr. Briggs, shared with us an experience that will stay in our memories for a lifetime. Mr. Briggs has had such a positive time in Thrifty Ice Cream that he said in his words "it's like a family" and that's the kind of spirit we encountered today as we meet with Mr. Privitt and Mr. Arellano who also helped lead the tour. From the careful manufacturing process, to the assembly, to the traveling through conveyor belts and the quality control workers, it was like observing an enchanted world of sweet, rich, goodness! This Thrifty Ice Cream Plant is a beautiful, hidden 💎 gem in the city of El Monte and I am so happy to know that their flavour full ice cream 🍨 is made locally and it's supporting the community with many jobs. At the end of the Ice Cream Plant tour we were spoiled with many samples of delicious 🍨 ice cream that Mr. Tim was glad to serve our children and adults. Flavors like black cherry 🍒, 🍓 strawberry lemonade 🍋 sherbet, macadamia caramel, 🍊 orange sherbet, cotton candy 🍭, cookies 'n cream, 🍫 chocolate malted krunch, rocky road ice cream 🍨 and many others I cannot recalled by name. The delicious, sweet milky flavors of dreamy goodness brought back memories of my time as a youth, (about thirty two years ago or so) when I used to work in South Pasadena on Fair Oaks Ave. I remember getting off work at the local fast food restaurant nearby and stopping at Thrifty (Rite Aid) to purchase a single scoop or sometimes double scoop of ice cream 🍨 goodness to enjoy as I walked 2.4 miles to my home in Alhambra. I was very pleased to be reminded that markets such as Albertsons, Northgate Market, Smart & Final, Rite Aid and Vons carry their delicious 😋 Thrifty ice cream 🍨 and if that's not enough even Instacart delivers it right at your door. 🤤If you read thus far, what are you waiting? Go purchase your own tub of Thrifty Ice Cream 🍨 today and share it with your own family 😋 creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Enjoying Thrifty ice cream since I was a kid. I like others, but I love Thrifty Ice cream

Bought my favorite since childhood. Only had 3 pistachios in it. I called the number on container person answr" security " Then hung up 800.888.0879. Should not advertise PASTACHO NUT. If it's only going to have 3 in it!

SUPER FREAKING DISAPPOINTED! I just bought chocolate chip cookie dough and i don't know what the hell they did! Because now the ice cream is just freaking chocolate chip. What the hell did they do? Did They just get lazy and threw cookie dough in the chocolate chip ice cream!!??? I feel so disrespected!

Note: This review is for the ice cream not the location. Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. was a pharmacy holding company that owned the Thrifty Drugs and PayLess Drug Store chains in the western United States. In 1996, Rite Aid acquired 1,000 West Coast stores from Thrifty PayLess. Rite Aid has kept the Thrifty Ice Cream name alive. It's just recently brought this delicious ice cream to my Rite Aid downstairs in my apartment building. I bought the Vanilla for Thanksgiving at my daughters request. She said that was the traditional flavor to go with our Apple Pie. It has a delicious flavor that reminds me of the ice cream when I was a child. The ingredients are not complicated. I've taken screenshots for you of the package. I love the cute package too. I'm recommending Thrifty when you are in the mood for ice cream. I'm going to try the other flavors. This ice cream was created in 1940! That's another reason I recommend. It's got a long history. I'm certainly thankful to Rite Aid for bringing it to Manhattan! It's really sweet when it's on sale!

Somethings just beg to be taken out of the freezer case. Case in point. Close your eyes and taste. If you gave it a trendy name...perhaps Vanille Bourbon. That would work. Not always such a great price but this week 2 for $5.

I originally came from the L.A. area, and this ice cream was a staple - especially the Rocky Road. Today it's still my favorite, creamy ice cream with fresh tasting marshmallows in it. I hope Albertsons' will leave it alone and sell it in supermarkets. This ice cream is heavenly.

ICE CREAM FACTORY HERE! Sweetest of the Sweets! I remember 5 cents, 10 cents and 15 cents for a triple scoop. This address is for the Thrifty Ice Cream Factory!Have you been here? If not, it is a grand site to see Thrifty Ice Cream trucks and the old logo. For me, Rite Aid sucks. The only thing that chain has to offer is this ice cream. I read several reviews on here about peoples favorite ice cream....but DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MALTED CRUNCH is the Shizzel and the best. Sweet sweet delicious ice cream!!!!!!!!!

I happened upon this ice cream while in Rite-Aid. I didn't know it was a California staple until I researched flavors ( although the pecan praline will have you hooked). This ice cream is worth dealing with the rude cashier! I am ready to leave Breyers alone. Thriftys is my new favorite!

Childhood crush, I remember when a one scoop cone was 10 cents. This factory is not open to the public. I drove all the way there to find out no scoops or gallons for sale. Going to have to go to your local shop

Thrifty brand ice cream has been around for many decades and has numerous awards and ribbons. I had the privilege recently of touring this facility. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and after a quick check in at the front we went upstairs to learn about Thrifty ice cream's rich (and tasty) history before we were off to the main floor of the plant. It was awesome to see how the ice cream was mixed and filled into their "scround" containers. Coined "scround" due to its squarish yet rounded off shape. We witnessed the packaged products travel along one of the many conveyor belts and sent through a machine that bundled eight scrounds together in order for them to be shipped to stores. We got to view the warehouse where all the ingredients to make and mix the ice cream were housed. Also walked into the super freezing storeroom where the finished and packaged products were organized onto pallets by type of container (pints, scrounds, 3 gallon tubs) and flavor ready to be loaded onto trucks and shipped to stores. They only produce one flavor a day. On this particular day them were producing a batch of Mocha Almond Fudge into scround containers. We were given the opportunity to sample some of the finished product fresh from the line. Man was it tasty! The consistency of it was akin to frozen yogurt and soft serve because after the finished product is first produced it is normally stored in deep freeze for several hours and them housed ready to be loaded and shipped. Rite Aid is the main carrier for Thrifty brand ice cream (since Rite Aid bought Thrifty/Payless many moons ago) although it can be sometimes be found at other locations. One particular chain that does most of its business in ice cream actually uses Thrifty brand ice cream. I won't divulge what chain here as it is supposed to be a "secret". I also learned there is a particular Rite Aid store located in Utah that sells not only Thrifty hand scooped ice cream but also Thrifty frozen yogurt/soft served as well as Coffee Bean and Tealeaf coffee and various pastries. We saw pictures of this store and it was beautiful; wish there was a Rite Aid like this in California! In addition to the traditional flavors still found in Rite Aid stores, we learned and saw many flavors that are only available in select markets (one market being that store from Utah I mentioned) such as Bubblegum, Green Tea, and Spumoni. Also, old timey flavors once thought lost and gone forever are still produced for other markets. Remember Black Walnut? Peanut Butter and Chocolate? Medieval Madness? Banana Walnut? Surprisingly all alive and well. My visit here at the Thrifty Ice Cream Plant was chock full of informative, frozen fun. Thanks again to Scott and Joe for allowing us the opportunity to tour the facility and taste some ice cream. All the employees were friendly and fun and the atmosphere in the plant was really chill. I look forward to a return visit in the future.

Thrify is the only ice cream I favor since Carnation went out of business. Hey did Thrifty buy carnation? Fav flavors: Butter peacan, vanilla (classic), chocolate chip cookie dough, Peacan praline. Thrifty please get a website going! You can have us fans vote on flavors, make our own flavors... Special order flavors...I have so many ideas hahaha... *The boxed ice cream does not taste the same as the scoops I get from Rite-aid (still good though). I guess I like the "experience"

This has to be the best ice cream around. My family and I have been enjoying this ice cream since it was still Thrifty Drug store and now Rite Aid. All of their flavors are awesome but my all-time favorite is Chocolate Malted Krunch. You can never go wrong with their ice cream and also it's inexpensive. Why spend a lot of money on other fancy ice cream when Thrifty ice cream is just as good or even better. I get my ice cream by the half gallon and it's wise to look through their weekly circular because you can get it cheap when it's on sale. Yesterday I bought myself 2 containers for $1.99 each using their new Rite Aid wellness + Rewards card.

For years I have always enjoyed Thrifty ice cream. My favorite flavor is pistachio nut loaded with tons of pistachio but NOT ANYMORE I picked up two tubs the other day and both tubs had only 10 nuts in each tub how disappointing is that. Is thrifty cutting back on ingredients

Ice Cream Sandwich F!@#!!n Genuises So yesterday I needed some cashback from Rite Aid and I hit the freezer by the ice cream counter. I grabbed a mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. I put it in my mouth and it melted into minty-cholately chippy gooey goodness. I can't say enough. I'm a big Fan. I also love the ice cream counter and that's my one-star complaint, 4 out of 5 because sometimes you have to wait 10 minutes before anyone shows up to scoop it out. I just can't wait, I need instant Thrifty ice cream gratification.

I have been eating this stuff for over 20 years, and must say that it is still one of my favorites! You can find this ice cream at most Rite Aids, and they usually sell it in 1/2 gallons or attendant scooped on cones (or in a cup). The weird thing is that the ice cream is so cheap! Usually when something is cheap... it reflects in the taste, but with Thrifty Ice Cream, it is not the case. I would recommend the chocolate chip!

come one people we all know about thrifty well rite aid now but who can forget the ice cream. i have to say this is away better then dryers and B&J also well can't say that about cold stone. cookies and cream, mint and chips,

Best Ice Cream EVER!! My all time favorite is their Peanut Butter & Chocolate, but I cannot find it anymore. I think they stopped making it. I wish they would make it again!! It was the same chocolate ice cream as the Chocolate Malted Crunch (new fav!) and they used a creamy peanut butter that never froze! It was always soft! LOVED IT!! I love pretty much all their flavors, but I miss that one the most!

I am a so. cal. native. Used to go to the local Thrifty drug store often ,,, JUST to get ice cream cones. I remember when a single scoop was a nickel. Moved to Las Vegas, NV as a young adult, stayed for almost 24 years ... with frequent trips back to so. cal .... so I was never totally without Thrifty ice cream. I "raised" my kids on Thrifty ice cream too! Anyway, I just moved to Florida. BIG change ... far far from what was home for so long. There are NO Rite Aids out here, no Scoops ice cream shops, no Smarty's or Funny's gas stations that sell Thrifty ... nothing. THRIFTY NEEDS A MANUFACTURING PLANT ON THE EAST COAST. Please !!!!!!

Thrifty ice cream is found in rite aid stores and it;s super cheap. Their pricing system make no sense though, it's 1.29 for 1 scoop, 1.79 for 2 scoops, and 1.99 for 3 scoops! how can I NOT spend 20 cents and get 3 scoops ? They have lemonhead ice cream which is interesting, I thought it would be like lemon sherbet but it's not. My favorite though is the pecan praline, amazing........

BEWARE OF GLASS IN ICE CREAM. I purchased a pint of mint choc chip on June 9th, 2012 and it had a large piece of glass in it. So far i have tried to make sure the manager of Rite Aid took proper protocols to have it pulled. No answer from him. I have called the Thrifty Co in Los Angeles, left message with quality control, no response. I am just hoping that no one, especially a child gets this in their ice cream. REALLY, what a way to do business.

The plant is located in a tight nook off of El Monte's industrial district. I pass by it many times to get to the ten freeway. The security guard out front is very friendly. The ice cream also work wonders!

I have been eating this ice cream since the 60's. my concern is that it has changed ! the taste is not as rich as it was just a year ago. just tried again last night and confirmed my thoughts. what have you done ! I tried the same flavor from Stater brothers and was so much better, are you making it for them now ? I hope you fix this problem.

Love the ice cream, no doubt it's the Best!!! The sign said it was open to the public, but due to an accident it no longer is... Oh well, Rite Aid it is!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring back the carrot cake ice cream. I'm dying for it. it's the only one i've ever had that was actually good