Does anyone remember these stores? It was a drug store but they sold alot of different items. They also had an ice cream section where you could get a single, double, or triple scoop of ice cream. It was really cheap, but the best ice cream in the world. I usually only went there for the ice cream. The last time I seen a Thrifty's was in 1991. Does anyone else remember them?

Yes, they apparently changed to RITE-AID and farmed their 'slowest clerks in the West' out to Sav-On drugs who for awhile tied calling themselves OSCO but it was a no-no word in spanish so they are now sav-on in LA  :o :o :o

Oh yes...I remember these drugstores very well. As a child in the 80s I would go there with my parents all the time. I think it was sometime in the mid-to-late 90s (1997 or so) when they switched to Rite-Aid. Not to mention that the stores had remodeled inside.

In October 1999, however, I went to one that said "Rite-Aid" on the outside, but it still looked like a Thrifty inside. ::)

Did these Rite Aid's you went to still have that great ice cream? The ones here in California didn't.

Did these Rite Aid's you went to still have that great ice cream? The ones here in California didn't.
They discontinued that here in San Jose,but the Long's on Lincoln avenue has ice cream

Actually, we had a Thrifty out here in California and we had a store called PayLess. Eventually, Thrifty bought out Payless and they merged their names. Then Thrifty got bought out by Rite-Aid and now any store formerly known as a Thrifty have all converted to Rite-Aids. Our Rite-Aids still serve the Ice Cream. Does anyone remember O'Farrell's Ice Cream - where the clown would come and sing Happy Birthday to you? I thinik this was mainly a west coast place - originating in San Diego (if my memory is correct).

we had Thrift Drug, would that be the same?




Erin :)

we had Thrift Drug, would that be the same?




Erin :)


I don't believe they're the same store - but I could be mistaken!  :-\\

Not the same store.

Actually, we had a Thrifty out here in California and we had a store called PayLess. Eventually, Thrifty bought out Payless and they merged their names. Then Thrifty got bought out by Rite-Aid and now any store formerly known as a Thrifty have all converted to Rite-Aids. Our Rite-Aids still serve the Ice Cream. Does anyone remember O'Farrell's Ice Cream - where the clown would come and sing Happy Birthday to you? I thinik this was mainly a west coast place - originating in San Diego (if my memory is correct).


You learn something new everyday (I had no idea it was the same store - that explains alot, hehe). :)

I always used to see Thrifty's around the Bay Area when I was younger. I live in San Jose now (have since '96) and there's tons of Rite Aid's here, along with Walgreens and Longs. RA is the slightly highest priced of the three, but they've also got ice cream stands, so I guess that makes up for it. 8)

You learn something new everyday (I had no idea it was the same store - that explains alot, hehe). :)

I always used to see Thrifty's around the Bay Area when I was younger. I live in San Jose now (have since '96) and there's tons of Rite Aid's here, along with Walgreens and Longs. RA is the slightly highest priced of the three, but they've also got ice cream stands, so I guess that makes up for it. 8)


Yeah, I think I was a very unusual child because I was highly aware of these subtle changes in store names, street names, etc. I was real observant. I remember we had a Payless, Longs and Lucky's (Now Albertsons) all within half a mile of another. I can't be for certain if I've noticed if one is more than the other, as I don't go in them all too often - but I go to Wal-greens probably a little more because I like getting my film developed there.  ;D

Yeah, I think I was a very unusual child because I was highly aware of these subtle changes in store names, street names, etc. I was real observant. I remember we had a Payless, Longs and Lucky's (Now Albertsons) all within half a mile of another. I can't be for certain if I've noticed if one is more than the other, as I don't go in them all too often - but I go to Wal-greens probably a little more because I like getting my film developed there. ;D

Oh, same here. ;)

Aside from, say remembering the exact order of songs on a tape we'd make, I'd also pay attention to things like "How many towns are there from Rohnert Park to San Francisco?" when we'd take drives. Maybe that's why I never liked "kid" stuff that much, LOL!

Anyway, I liked Lucky's too, in fact even though Albertson's has taken over the name for at least 6 or 7 years now, I STILL occasionally catch myself calling it Lucky's out of habit. ;D

Walgreens is also my favorite of the "big 3" drugstores.

Oh, same here. ;)

Aside from, say remembering the exact order of songs on a tape we'd make, I'd also pay attention to things like "How many towns are there from Rohnert Park to San Francisco?" when we'd take drives. Maybe that's why I never liked "kid" stuff that much, LOL!

Anyway, I liked Lucky's too, in fact even though Albertson's has taken over the name for at least 6 or 7 years now, I STILL occasionally catch myself calling it Lucky's out of habit. ;D

Walgreens is also my favorite of the "big 3" drugstores.


Yeah - me, too. I always remembered the exact order of tapes - whether they were homemade concoctions, store-bought albums, etc...

Gotta go for the moment - but will add more to this -

I used to work at Thrifty Drug Stores. I worked at the stores in Venice and another one in Beverly Hills. I then moved to corporate headquarters which was a building on Wilshire Blvd in downtown L.A. which later was donated to the Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles (the building had a big sign that said "Thrifty Corporation".) I was there for the merger/buyout(s), Thrifty was first gobbled up by Pacific Gas and Electric (which later became Pacific Enterprices or PE) who hired a lady, Eve Rich, to run Thrifty Drug whose previous experience was CEO of Contempo Casuals a women's clothing store chain??! She pretty much flopped with most of her ideas, "Remember the Knick Knack Aisle," that's not what it was called any way....where you could get cute little keychain fobs, cheap plastic cutsie toys, etc. on both sides of a full aisle!! We ended up blowing the junk out at a huge loss. She left on a golden parachute and then they hired a seasoned grocery guy, Bill Yingling and some guy named Ken to run operations. These guys were good in my opinion. The only thing is that they got approached by the  infamous Leonard Green and associates about a buyout and merger with PayLess which used to be a subsidiary of KMart. The guys on Wilshire thought this was an opportunity to get paid during the merger (since many owned stock in PE) and have a job after to boot. Well from my knowledge just about everyone got the boot (including me) even with all their promises. They closed down the Wilshire HQ (Over 800 people laid off or moved back to the stores) and kept the Portland, Oregon HQ (which was PayLess Drug Store's original HQ). So they changed the name to Thrifty Payless and actually I got involved a tiny bit with assisting with printing up that logo on several brochures, it turned my stomach as I was creating the originals.

Other stores formerly associated with Thrifty Drug: Bi-Mart Discount Stores, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Thrifty Jr.

No relation to Thrift Drug, Thrifty-White, Thrifty Car Rental

I miss the great people at Thrifty Drug,  the great customers, the ice cream (did you know Thrifty Ice Cream was sold to many trendy and fine dining restauraunts where people paid $$$$ for a scoop that cost through the years 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, .75 cents a scoop?) There were many trying times but as a family of employees I sure do miss that most of all.  I also miss that old school Thrifty Drug logo, big red.

To former employees: Remember the "GOTCHA" program? Thrifty Today? (I did the graphics and layout), the huge company parties we had back in the day? (I was only there for the very last one, sad.) the ugly brown uniforms? the bright teal ones? how people in corporate would reserve sale, blowout items, at the stores so only they could buy it not store level employees?(I never did this since I came from the stores) when a V.P. through his chair off the 26th or something floor through the window when he was terminated right after he closed on a house. Well to all the good memories and last but not least to all the beautiful women who worked for Thrifty Drug (you know who you are) I miss ya .... :\'(

Yeah, that ice cream is what kept me going back. I have never had ice cream as good as that, and probably never will again.

I used to work at Thrifty Drug Stores. I worked at the stores in Venice and another one in Beverly Hills. I then moved to corporate headquarters which was a building on Wilshire Blvd in downtown L.A. which later was donated to the Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles (the building had a big sign that said "Thrifty Corporation".) I was there for the merger/buyout(s), Thrifty was first gobbled up by Pacific Gas and Electric (which later became Pacific Enterprices or PE) who hired a lady, Eve Rich, to run Thrifty Drug whose previous experience was CEO of Contempo Casuals a women's clothing store chain??! She pretty much flopped with most of her ideas, "Remember the Knick Knack Aisle," that's not what it was called any way....where you could get cute little keychain fobs, cheap plastic cutsie toys, etc. on both sides of a full aisle!! We ended up blowing the junk out at a huge loss. She left on a golden parachute and then they hired a seasoned grocery guy, Bill Yingling and some guy named Ken to run operations. These guys were good in my opinion. The only thing is that they got approached by the  infamous Leonard Green and associates about a buyout and merger with PayLess which used to be a subsidiary of KMart. The guys on Wilshire thought this was an opportunity to get paid during the merger (since many owned stock in PE) and have a job after to boot. Well from my knowledge just about everyone got the boot (including me) even with all their promises. They closed down the Wilshire HQ (Over 800 people laid off or moved back to the stores) and kept the Portland, Oregon HQ (which was PayLess Drug Store's original HQ). So they changed the name to Thrifty Payless and actually I got involved a tiny bit with assisting with printing up that logo on several brochures, it turned my stomach as I was creating the originals.

Other stores formerly associated with Thrifty Drug: Bi-Mart Discount Stores, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Thrifty Jr.

No relation to Thrift Drug, Thrifty-White, Thrifty Car Rental

I miss the great people at Thrifty Drug,  the great customers, the ice cream (did you know Thrifty Ice Cream was sold to many trendy and fine dining restauraunts where people paid $$$$ for a scoop that cost through the years 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, .75 cents a scoop?) There were many trying times but as a family of employees I sure do miss that most of all.  I also miss that old school Thrifty Drug logo, big red.

To former employees: Remember the "GOTCHA" program? Thrifty Today? (I did the graphics and layout), the huge company parties we had back in the day? (I was only there for the very last one, sad.) the ugly brown uniforms? the bright teal ones? how people in corporate would reserve sale, blowout items, at the stores so only they could buy it not store level employees?(I never did this since I came from the stores) when a V.P. through his chair off the 26th or something floor through the window when he was terminated right after he closed on a house. Well to all the good memories and last but not least to all the beautiful women who worked for Thrifty Drug (you know who you are) I miss ya .... :\'(

I also worked for Thrifty's. I started in Tustin, CA and worked most of the So Ca stores in managment. I also worked Yuma AZ and ended in Santa Ana, CA. I need to figure out how to retreive my 401K I left behind. I left in 1989. Any suggestions?

Actually, we had a Thrifty out here in California and we had a store called PayLess. Eventually, Thrifty bought out Payless and they merged their names. Then Thrifty got bought out by Rite-Aid and now any store formerly known as a Thrifty have all converted to Rite-Aids. Our Rite-Aids still serve the Ice Cream. Does anyone remember O'Farrell's Ice Cream - where the clown would come and sing Happy Birthday to you? I thinik this was mainly a west coast place - originating in San Diego (if my memory is correct).

Payless, not to be confused with the shoe store chain?

Payless, not to be confused with the shoe store chain?


Yeah, I know there was Payless Show Source and there was just Payless. Payless Shoe Source is still around, but Payless got bought out by Thrifty and now they are all called Rite-Aid's.

hey i used to go eat that ice cream too. I grew up in san diego but have since moved to Indiana, but there were several thrifty stores all over the place. I was actuall looking to find one of the thrifty ice cream scoups that they had when i found this site. my wife collect's them and really wanted that one. anyone know where I can get one. And also the O'farrells is still open in san diego on mira mesa blvd. They have the pig troff where you get like 5 gallons of ice cream. awe the memories.........

hey i used to go eat that ice cream too. I grew up in san diego but have since moved to Indiana, but there were several thrifty stores all over the place. I was actuall looking to find one of the thrifty ice cream scoups that they had when i found this site. my wife collect's them and really wanted that one. anyone know where I can get one. And also the O'farrells is still open in san diego on mira mesa blvd. They have the pig troff where you get like 5 gallons of ice cream. awe the memories.........


Wow, I am so glad to hear that the O'Farrells Ice Cream is still around in San Diego! That makes me want to go there and visit!

it's my understanding that when Rite-Aid took over Thrifty a condition of the sale was to keep the ice cream....my first California job was as a service merchandiser...our big account was Thrifty's and I worked all over LA/Orange/San Diego counties with an occaisonal trip to Oakland/Berkley area....most Thrifty employees were very upset with the merger; talked about Rite-Aid being a 'mom & pop" drug chain from the East that won't know how to run the biz; when I mentioned that the stores were almost identical, they didn't believe me (raised on East coast & one of the reasons I shopped Thrifty, was they reminded me of Rite-Aid)....trivia!

yes, still get the Thrifty ice cream in Rite Aid (El Segundo, Long Beach, Hawthorne.....)

what's your favorite Thrifty ice cream flavor? mine is pistachio

I liked Pistachio, Chocolate Brownie, Mint Chip, Chocolate Cordial Cherry, and Rainbow. Rite Aid doesnt have it here in Central Cali.

we used to have "peoples drug" out here in washington d.c., and it got snarfed up by CVS, drug store of the New World Order. i was looking for any pictures of a peoples drug on the internet but i couldn't find any.

the place where i used to live, silver spring, maryland, they had the corner peoples and it was very art deco looking, next to the KB silver theater, also very art deco, it's where i used to watch the F13 triple features and such back in the leg-warmer days. it's funny what happened there, silver spring is now this crazy overdeveloped area and that whole area is now completely retooled, it looks like a shopping mall out of logan's run or something, but it's also got an aspect of the "old town" thing to it. but the KB theater got basically torn down and then completely reassembled like it was, and now it's an AFI theater, like half theater, half museum, and they show arthouse stuff and old classics. good movies, but the point is, the KB showed crap! and that's how we liked it!

and in the outdoor mall/old towney joint where the peoples drug used to be, they put up a buncha pictures of the place around the time when i lived there, and on back, back to the thirties. so the whole joint has become like this museum exhibit of itself. totally weird. and yet except for the theater and the pictures it pretty much looks like everywhere else in the d.c. area, bethesda and rockville and fairfax, now...

Yeah, I know there was Payless Show Source and there was just Payless. Payless Shoe Source is still around, but Payless got bought out by Thrifty and now they are all called Rite-Aid's.

Got it. But what's Payless Show Source? ;)

Got it. But what's Payless Show Source? ;)


Payless Shoe Source

The Payless Show Source is a channel on channel 598,999  ;D

Payless Shoe Source

The Payless Show Source is a channel on channel 598,999

LOL :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Ahhhhhhhhhh yes good ole Thrifty Drug I can remember it was a nickle for a single scoop of ice cream ten cents for a double and fifteen for a triple. My grandparents lived right around the corner from one . And i worked at that during summers in school.

I used to work at Thrifty Drug Stores. I worked at the stores in Venice and another one in Beverly Hills. I then moved to corporate headquarters which was a building on Wilshire Blvd in downtown L.A. which later was donated to the Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles (the building had a big sign that said "Thrifty Corporation".) I was there for the merger/buyout(s), Thrifty was first gobbled up by Pacific Gas and Electric (which later became Pacific Enterprices or PE) who hired a lady, Eve Rich, to run Thrifty Drug whose previous experience was CEO of Contempo Casuals a women's clothing store chain??! She pretty much flopped with most of her ideas, "Remember the Knick Knack Aisle," that's not what it was called any way....where you could get cute little keychain fobs, cheap plastic cutsie toys, etc. on both sides of a full aisle!! We ended up blowing the junk out at a huge loss. She left on a golden parachute and then they hired a seasoned grocery guy, Bill Yingling and some guy named Ken to run operations. These guys were good in my opinion. The only thing is that they got approached by the  infamous Leonard Green and associates about a buyout and merger with PayLess which used to be a subsidiary of KMart. The guys on Wilshire thought this was an opportunity to get paid during the merger (since many owned stock in PE) and have a job after to boot. Well from my knowledge just about everyone got the boot (including me) even with all their promises. They closed down the Wilshire HQ (Over 800 people laid off or moved back to the stores) and kept the Portland, Oregon HQ (which was PayLess Drug Store's original HQ). So they changed the name to Thrifty Payless and actually I got involved a tiny bit with assisting with printing up that logo on several brochures, it turned my stomach as I was creating the originals.

Other stores formerly associated with Thrifty Drug: Bi-Mart Discount Stores, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Thrifty Jr.

No relation to Thrift Drug, Thrifty-White, Thrifty Car Rental

I miss the great people at Thrifty Drug,  the great customers, the ice cream (did you know Thrifty Ice Cream was sold to many trendy and fine dining restauraunts where people paid $$$$ for a scoop that cost through the years 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, .75 cents a scoop?) There were many trying times but as a family of employees I sure do miss that most of all.  I also miss that old school Thrifty Drug logo, big red.

To former employees: Remember the "GOTCHA" program? Thrifty Today? (I did the graphics and layout), the huge company parties we had back in the day? (I was only there for the very last one, sad.) the ugly brown uniforms? the bright teal ones? how people in corporate would reserve sale, blowout items, at the stores so only they could buy it not store level employees?(I never did this since I came from the stores) when a V.P. through his chair off the 26th or something floor through the window when he was terminated right after he closed on a house. Well to all the good memories and last but not least to all the beautiful women who worked for Thrifty Drug (you know who you are) I miss ya .... :\'(

Wow! i came across this page and it brought back memories.....I was a Thrifty brat! or that's what the kids of the employess were called that went to work for the company. It was my first job when I turned 16 around 1973. I worked at the store in Redondo Beach at Aviation and Artiesia. I would also work at other stores on call to cover shifts like Culver City, Westhchester. My mother was a 30 year employee, she retired in the early 80's. I have memories that go way back to the days when they had a tabacco and liquor counter, a cosmetic and photo counter. I even remember the old Redondo store on PCH and it had a lunch counter you parked in the back or you could enter from PCH which was the front of the store. There is now a Carl's Jr in that same spot. Boy do I remember the ice cream, it was great. I was around when they introduced their Pastachio cashew and Strawberry cheesecake flavors. It was the best deal in town, and every soccer team in a 5 mile radius would come in for a single after a big win!! Add that up, now days it be a small fortune back then it was a $1.00 You could buy a 1/2 gallon, basic flavors for 99 cents and speciality flavors $ 1.06. If I diipped one cone, I dipped hundreds some saturdays it would be up to my elbows. Before the end of the evening shift you had to clean the ice cream counter.  Remember the scooper it would shape the ice cream like a small can....heck who needed lunch we ate ice cream. I use to look forward to the surfers stopping in on their way home from a day at the beach to buy a triple with their last 15 cents. I would have to say it was a good company to work for in it's day. I would know the name of the original owners if I heard it but it doesn't come to mind right now. When you were a Thrify Brat you had to work hard cause someone knew your mom and if you were a slacker she would hear about it.
This was fun I hope this jogs a few memories for some>
My memories go way back

This is the same as Thrift Drug.  ::)

This is the same as Thrift Drug.  ::)


never heard of that ::) ::)

Thrifty Drug Stores was one of my favorite places to go during my childhood, and it was always because of the ice cream. My number one favorite is Black Cherry, but I also loved Pistachio (my dad's favorite as well) and Rainbow Sherbet.  :)

Thrifty Drug Stores was one of my favorite places to go during my childhood, and it was always because of the ice cream. My number one favorite is Black Cherry, but I also loved Pistachio (my dad's favorite as well) and Rainbow Sherbet.  :)


yep, those are good flavors. I used to like Pistachio because it was green, but back then I was unaware that it was really the name of a nut.

yep, those are good flavors. I used to like Pistachio because it was green, but back then I was unaware that it was really the name of a nut.


I actually used to think the same thing about Pistachio when I was little.  ;D

We had a Thrifty's back in the 70s and 80s. I remember buying my Star Wars figures there... oh and a plastic ET whose finger lit up red. I can still remember opening it up in the car journey home.

I actually used to think the same thing about Pistachio when I was little.  ;D

and I actually didn't like to eat nuts until I was a little older....lol.

yep ;D...i  remember the store well. I used to go there in the mid 90's as a teenager for the ice-cream...luckily it was one block from the city bus transit center, so i could just easily walk over there. great memory. that particular Thrifty's in Visalia, California ended up becoming a Starbuck's. :\'(

Did these Rite Aid's you went to still have that great ice cream? The ones here in California didn't.


Some do.  The one on Highland in Hollywood still does.  In fact, it is even called the "Thrifty Ice Cream Parlor".  I used to live next door to this store, and remember going there all the time.  I visited there over the 4th Of July weekend, and Thrifty Ice Cream was still for sale.

When Rite Aid was here, I would sometimes stop by for some Thrifty Ice Cream. I was so sad when all the Rite Aid stores closed here a couple of months ago.  :(

When Rite Aid was here, I would sometimes stop by for some Thrifty Ice Cream. I was so sad when all the Rite Aid stores closed here a couple of months ago.   :(

Your area lost all of its Rite Aid stores?? :o :o We still have some here in southern California, most of which I know started out as Thrifty's. And I think they still serve Thrifty Ice Cream; at least they did 3 years ago.

Your area lost all of its Rite Aid stores?? :o :o We still have some here in southern California, most of which I know started out as Thrifty's. And I think they still serve Thrifty Ice Cream; at least they did 3 years ago.


Every single one of them.  :(

Every single one of them.  :(

Did they get bought out by another company or something?

Did they get bought out by another company or something?


I don't really know the entire story, but I do know they didn't get bought out....there was something in the newspaper a while back about Rite Aid wanting to exit our market. I guess the stores weren't doing too well here.  :(

I don't really know the entire story, but I do know they didn't get bought out....there was something in the newspaper a while back about Rite Aid wanting to exit our market. I guess the stores weren't doing too well here.  :(

That makes sense... some stores/franchises do better in other parts of the country than others. Fresh Choice (a restaurant chain) has been closing most of its locations in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, altho they might still have locations elsewhere.

Back when I was growing up we has Tamblins Drug Stores..They sold containers right off the shelf of
Sulfur , Saltpeter , Charcoal , Potassium Nitrate..(ingredients for making gunpowder)...Sears & the likes used to sell kids chemistry sets...
All thats changed now!
;D ;D ;D ;D 

I worked for Borun Bros. Thrifty Drug from 1965-1972 at the warehouse on LaBrea and Jefferson in L.A. Another warehouse was added about 1968 in Anaheim.
Thrifty began with one location, store 6, on Wilshire Blvd. on the same site as the Wiltern Theater. Between the store and the theater entrance was a small shop, Mrs. See's Candy. Later, that company dropped the "Mrs."
There were, as I recall, over two hundred Thrifty Drug Stores.
Their counters served hot meals from liver and onions to pot roast, sandwiches, coffee, tea and Postum -- and yes, their ice-cream. They processed photos and sold sundries and kitchen items, tobacco, liquor and beer, jewelry, and heaven knows what else. Their headquarters store was at the site of their offices on Rodeo and Jefferson. I recall  the "one-armed man" from "The Fugitive" TV program, starring Davis Jansenn, sitting there at the counter having lunch. Just a crazy memory, but its a mnemonic.
The warehouses were manned by members of ILWU local 6.

Good news!!!  Thrifty's ice cream (now Rite Aid) is still located in Santa Clara, CA 95051 (borders San Jose, CA) on 2620 El Camino Real in the Moonlite Shopping Center (with bowling) next to Save Mart between Kiely Blvd and San Tomas Expwy.  Their phone number is 408-241-0919.  Maybe if you call them, they can direct you to a location near you.  Their ice cream is awesome!  Giant scoops at dirt cheap prices.  I think the last time I paid $1-$1.50 for three scoops last year in 2008.  I've lived next to it for ten years. 

Baskin Robbins is a rip-off with their tiny scoops and high prices.

O'Farrels Ice Cream used to be located here in San Jose at Eastridge Mall in the 1970's, maybe 1980's too.  I remember fondly my birthday party when I was a little kid at O'Farrel's.  They served a ton of ice cream...many gallons.  I think it was called the "Pigout."  I can't find their website now though.  I've tried to google them with no success so I don't know if they're out of business.  I noticed in this thread that in 2005 they were located in San Diego but I can't find them at all.  I would love to go to O'Farrel's again.  They served a full menu within their restaurant and had a big candy store included.  I think they had some entertainment too but I can't remember now.  If anyone could tell me what their website is, I'd greatly appreciate it.  It's hard to find many places when their company name keeps changing from corporate buyouts.

Also, if anyone is interested in Hungry Hunter Steakhouse, the last one is still open in South San Francisco, CA near the airport.  The have the best steaks.  I should look for a thread other than this one to add to it or create a new one.  Their parent company is bankrupt but another company bought the only Hungry Hunter that was still open at the very last second.