Thrifty Ice Cream was a huge part of my childhood. The first ice cream I ever had upon immigrating to the U.S. over 42 years ago was at Thrifty's in Monterey Park when it was $0.25/scoop. Mint & Chip and Rocky Road was my favorite! Sadly, even though I can still find Thrifty ice cream at some markets or convenience store, my dad is no longer around to take me - he passed away when I was 26. However, the memories of him taking me to Thrifty's lives on. :) Wished the factory offers tours. That would be amazing! read more

The best ice cream. Absolutely old school great. We love this place. It just gets better every time

Purchased Pistachio 1.5 L from Ralphs. It had an awful chemical taste, no resemblance to anything Pistachio. Reached out to let Thrifty know with both a phone call and email, never getting any response back. Hope nobody got sick from this batch. Not like the good old day's at the counters. Will not buy this brand again. read more

When I moved from Maryland, May 1976, California, I went to Rite Aid and saw thrifty ice cream! I have been eating it and enjoying it since then. It's now in the grocery store, Pavilions, where I shop and I am delighted! My favorite is back cherry ice cream! But, for the last several months, I've noticed that there are less and less cherries in the ice cream! Are you all cutting back? For financial reasons maybe? Need to put back more cherries, please! read more

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

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! read more

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Went to the factory to see if I could buy a 3 gal tub. No go. They are not selling anything out of that location anymore. Hope someone buys the ice cream part and continues on. It's the best!!! Be such a shame for it to be gone forever.... read more

It was closed when we got there despite what the opening hours said. A lady came out to tell us that you need to call ahead. We left sad

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! read more

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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. read more

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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!!!!!!!!! read more

Thrifty Ice Cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - El Monte, California

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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. read more

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. read more

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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! read more

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" read more

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. read more

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 read more

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. read more

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 read more

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! read more

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, read more

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! read more

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 !!!!!! read more

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........ read more

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. read more

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!!! read more

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

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! read more

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. read more