The Fate of Rite Aid's Thrifty Ice Cream Is Uncertain
Last week, 10 Los Angeles-area Rite-Aid pharmacies, many of which feature Southern California's iconic Thrifty Ice Cream counters, were announced to be closing in June as part of a nationwide reduction following Rite-Aid's second bankruptcy filing in as many years. More than 300 pharmacies are scheduled to close out of the company's more than 1,200, leaving many to wonder about the future of its Thrifty Ice Cream brand.
Thrifty began as a West Coast pharmacy chain in 1929, sourcing ice cream from local vendors and selling scoops for 5 cents before producing its own in the 1940s. In 1976, the company opened a large factory in El Monte that still makes around 60,000 gallons of ice cream a day. Thrifty was acquired by Rite-Aid in 1996 but retained many of its ice cream counters.
With Rite-Aid's recent bankruptcy announcement, media outlets are wondering what will become of the beloved ice cream brand. Rite-Aid hasn't commented on the future of the brand and its iconic cylindrical cones (whose scoopers are still for sale for around $30). Thrifty still sells retail containers of its ice cream at local grocery stores and continues to offer wholesale ice cream for food service, so it's likely the ice cream brand will endure. Rite-Aid is currently trying to find a buyer for its retail pharmacies, with many stores virtually bereft of items on their shelves. A halal Venice expansion
Toddrickallen reports that the Valley's popular New York Chicken & Gyros is opening soon on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice. Bringing a bit of Flushing, New York, to Los Angeles, the chain first opened in Canoga Park in 2017, where it sold halal cart-style food. The chain also operates in West Los Angeles and Pasadena. Sawtelle Japantown scene update
Japanese soft serve chain Indigo Cow, which also operates in Echo Park, opened in Sawtelle Japantown this weekend, serving frozen treats with dairy sourced from Japan.
In addition, Filipino restaurant Spoon & Pork, which operates only in Silver Lake after shuttering its Sawtelle Japantown location in February 2025, has been open about its recent struggles on social media. The beloved comfort food restaurant seems to need a boost right now. Long Beach's restaurant week
Long Beach Food Scene Week kicks off on August 1 and will feature 80 restaurants across the southern Los Angeles County city. Learn more here about the 10-day event. Tariffs hit a South Bay restaurant
Ruiji Sichuan Restaurant in Lomita posted a sign that's been trending on Reddit that details some of the cost increases that it blames on tariffs, including cooking oil, takeout containers, and chicken wings. It's a reminder that restaurants can't always pass increased costs to consumers without some pushback. Santa Monica's booze zone
Like the Las Vegas Strip and parts of New Orleans, Santa Monica has opened a 'booze zone' along Third Street Promenade where imbibers can enjoy alcohol on the street. Food & Wine has a story with more details that could help revitalize the struggling retail strip.
Sign up for our newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Most Asian markets rise as US data feeds rate-cut hopes
Asian shares mostly rose Thursday after soft US economic data boosted expectations the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates and put the focus on key jobs figures coming at the end of the week. Investors were also keeping track of developments in Donald Trump's trade war and signs of movement on possible talks between the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Wall Street provided an uninspiring lead as a report by payroll firm ADP showed private-sector jobs rose by 37,000 last month, a sharp slowdown from April's 60,000 and less than a third of what was forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Another survey showed activity in the services sector contracted in May for the first time since June last year. The readings stoked concerns that the world's number one economy was stuttering, with the Fed's closely watched "Beige Book" study noting that "economic activity has declined slightly". It flagged household and business caution caused by slower hiring and heightened uncertainty surrounding Trump's policies. However, the readings ramped up bets on a Fed cut, with markets pricing in two by the end of the year, with the first in September. Eyes are now on the non-farm payrolls release on Friday, which the central bank uses to help shape monetary policy. Still, there is some concern that the US president's tariff blitz will ramp up inflation, which could put pressure on the Fed to keep borrowing costs elevated. Most of Asia rose in early trade, with Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington up. Shanghai was flat and Tokyo fell ahead of a closely watched Japanese government bond auction. Seoul rallied more than two percent on continued excitement after the election of a new president ended a six-month power vacuum. The won rose around 0.4 percent, building on a recent run-up. Jakarta edged higher as Indonesia's government began rolling out a $1.5 billion stimulus package after Southeast Asia's biggest economy saw its slowest growth in more than three years in the first quarter. The possibility of US rate cuts hit the dollar Wednesday and it struggled to recover in Asia, making small inroads against the yen, pound and euro. Investors are awaiting news of talks between Trump and Xi, with the White House saying they could take place this week. But while tariffs remain a millstone around investors' necks, IG's chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said traders seemed less concerned than they were after the US president's April 2 "Liberation Day" fireworks. "With markets still rising, the overall view appears to still be that the US is no longer serious about imposing tariffs at the levels seen in April," he wrote in a commentary. "President Trump appears fixated on a call with China's president that might help to move the situation forward, but Beijing remains wary of committing itself to any deal. "This does leave markets open to another sudden shock, which might replicate some of the volatility seen in April. But that manic period appears to have dissuaded the administration from further major tariff announcements." - Key figures at around 0230 GMT - Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,658.46 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 23,871.21 Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,374.87 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1415 from $1.1417 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3546 from $1.3548 Dollar/yen: UP at 142.94 yen from 142.86 yen Euro/pound: UP at 84.27 pence from 84.26 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $62.77 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $64.88 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,427.74 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,801.29 (close) dan/sco Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil Investments to Fall 6% on Lower Demand and Prices, IEA Says
(Bloomberg) -- Global oil investments are expected to drop 6% in 2025, in the first such decline in a decade excluding the year of the Covid slump, according to the International Energy Agency. ICE Moves to DNA-Test Families Targeted for Deportation with New Contract The Global Struggle to Build Safer Cars NYC Residents Want Safer Streets, Cheaper Housing, Survey Says At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access The Buffalo Architect Fighting for Women in Design 'This decline in oil investment is driven by the economic uncertainties, the lower demand expectations, and lower prices,' IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview as the agency published its annual World Energy Investment report. The drop is mostly the result of a 'sharp decline in spending on US tight oil,' according to the report. Crude prices have fallen as US President Donald Trump's tariff policy threatens to slow the global economy, while OPEC+ accelerates the revival of its production into a market that was already well supplied. The IEA's initial estimates for 2025, based on company announcements, showed that oil and gas spending would be flat, but sentiment has since become more downbeat as oil prices are coming under pressure, according to the report. Lower expenditure on oil brings IEA expectations for overall upstream oil and gas investment for 2025 to just under $570 billion, a decline of about 4%. Of this spending, about 40% goes toward slowing down production declines at existing fields. Global refinery investment in 2025 is set to fall to its lowest level in the past 10 years at around $30 billion. Spending in natural gas fields is set to maintain the levels seen in 2024, and investment in new liquefied natural gas facilities 'is on a strong upward trajectory' as new projects in the US, Qatar, Canada and elsewhere prepare to come online. 'Between 2026 and 2028, the global LNG market is set to experience its largest ever capacity growth,' according to the report. Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Is Elon Musk's Political Capital Spent? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why Reddit, Inc. (RDDT) Skyrocketed Today
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) stands against other Wednesday's best-performing stocks. Reddit grew its share prices by 6.68 percent on Wednesday to end at $118.21 apiece following news that it sued an Artificial Intelligence company for scraping its data without its permission. In a copy of the lawsuit posted on its website, Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) claimed that AI firm Anthropic was training its Claude chatbot on its data since December 2021. A close up of two hands creating a social media post on Bumble Inc. app. According to Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT), filing a lawsuit was its final option to force Anthropic to stop its alleged unlawful practices. 'We will not tolerate profit-seeking entities like Anthropic commercially exploiting Reddit content for billions of dollars without any return for redditors or respect for their privacy,' the company said in a statement. 'A.I. companies should not be allowed to scrape information and content from people without clear limitations on how they can use that data.' Anthropic has yet to issue a statement on the allegations. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
