Rite Aid has found a buyer for Thrifty Ice Cream in the midst of the pharmacy chain’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Hilrod Holdings was named the successful bidder for the ice cream maker and KPH Healthcare Services in court documents filed June 26. The transaction was approved July 1 by a federal bankruptcy judge in New Jersey, according to court documents.
The holding company, tied to Monster Beverage Corporation executives Hilton Schlosberg and Rodney Sacks, will pay $19.2 million for the purchased assets, according to court documents. Sacks resigned as co-CEO in June ahead of retiring from the company, while Schlosberg would continue as CEO, according to SEC filings.
Monster Beverage Corporation did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment July 1.
Fans of the ice cream brand worried about its fate following the closures of Rite Aid locations across the country.
Some locations still offer Thrifty Ice Cream scoops, according to the pharmacy’s website.
As of May 30, Thrifty’s website no longer lists its specific locations, so it is unknown how many are still open.
What is Thrifty Ice Cream?
Thrifty Ice Cream began when Thrifty Drug Store owners Harry and Robert Borun and Norman Levin started producing ice cream to sell at their chain’s soda fountain, according to its website.
According to Thrifty, the ice cream reached “cult status” on the West Coast by the 1970s and had “significant celebrity shoutouts.”
For years, patrons of the drug store could get a signature cylindrical scoop while picking up their prescriptions. Eventually, the company also started producing cartons of their ice cream, which are still sold at retailers including Rite Aid and Albertsons, according to its website.
Rite Aid locations closing
Rite Aid has announced the closures of over 1,000 stores since the bankruptcy announcement in May.
The most recent list of closing stores, published in bankruptcy court June 27, set 123 locations in eight states on the path to closure. The previous list of closing stores, filed in the bankruptcy docket June 20, spelled the end for 118 locations across 11 states.
The pharmacy operated 1,240 stores across 15 states when the bankruptcy was announced.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thrifty Ice Cream sold in Rite Aid bankruptcy
