Baskin Robbins
In Memory of Irvine “Irv” Robbins (1917-2008)
“All of the Baskin-Robbins employees, franchisees
and licensees are saddened by the loss of Irv Robbins
who passed away earlier this week. Along with his
brother-in-law, Burton Baskin, Irv was a pioneer
in both the ice cream and franchising business and
leaves behind a great and enduring legacy.”
“Irv’s passion and ’we sell fun, not just ice cream’ vision
helped to create an iconic American brand that is now
universally loved and respected around the world. His dream
and love of ice cream put smiles on millions of faces and we
are honored to continue his tradition of providing guests with
irresistible flavors and treats. We invite ice cream lovers
across the globe to keep Irv and his family in their thoughts
and prayers.”
- Srinivas Kumar, Chief Brand Officer, Baskin-Robbins Worldwide
Remembering Irv
Irvine “Irv” Robbins was born on December 6, 1917, in Winnipeg,
Canada. As a teen, Irv grew up in Tacoma, Washington with a love
for old-fashioned ice cream while working at his father’s dairy and
ice cream store “Court C.” After his service in World War II, Irv was
eager to capitalize on America's love for ice cream and provide
customers with a variety of flavors made with ingredients of the
highest quality in a fun, inviting atmosphere. Irv opened Snowbird
on December 7, 1945 at 1130 South Adams, on the corner of
Adams and Palmer in Glendale, CA.
The following year, he went into partnership with his brother-in-law,
Burt Baskin (1913-1967), who also had his own ice cream shop,
Burton’s Ice Cream Shop.
In 1953, they merged their stores to become Baskin-Robbins®.
Irv and Burt were innovators. They created the concept of “31
Flavors”, one for every day of the month. As Irv said, “Not
everyone likes all our flavors, but each flavor is someone’s
favorite.” To help encourage taste testing, they introduced the
iconic pink sample spoon. So no matter what new flavor they
created, there was an easy way for customers to try any of
their many flavors for free.
Together Irv and Burt pioneered both the ice cream and fran-
chise business and created an innovative ice cream store that
became a neighborhood gathering place for families. Their
dream and legacy is now a franchise of over 5,800 stores in
34 countries around the world.