Irv Robbins
Encyclopedia
Irvine "Irv" Robbins was a Canadian born American
businessman. He co-founded the Baskin-Robbins
ice cream parlor
chain in 1945 with his partner and brother-in-law Burt Baskin
.
, Manitoba
, Canada
. His father, Aaron Robbins, owned a dairy and The Olympic Store ice cream business at 954 Court C in Tacoma, Washington
, USA
.
Robbins grew up scooping cones in his family's ice cream store for customers who always seemed to be having a good time. He recalled that he often "finished a day's work happy" and wanted that same feeling when he started his own business.
Irv Robbins attended the University of Washington
in Seattle, was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau
fraternity, and graduated with a degree in Political Science. He served in the U.S. Army
as a Staff Sergeant in California, during World War II
and was discharged August 1945.
. Robbins cashed in a $6,000 insurance policy given him for his bar Mitzvah
to start the business.
Burt Baskin owned a men's store in the Palmer House
in Chicago
, and married Robbins' sister Shirley in 1942. He had enlisted in the Navy
and was released from service early 1946 and came to California, where Robbins convinced him that selling ice cream was more fun than selling men's ties & shirts, and within a couple of months he opened Burton's Ice Cream at 561 So. Lake Pasadena, California
.
By 1948, the five Snowbird and three Burton's shops had been combined into a single enterprise, and they had devised their 31st flavor—Chocolate Mint. The partners came to the conclusion that because of the new stores they had opened, they were devoting less and less time to each individual store. "That's when we hit on selling our stores to our managers," Robbins said in the 1985 Los Angeles Times
story. "Without realizing it at the time, we were in the franchise business before the word 'franchise' was fashionable. We opened another store and another and another. . . ." They made an agreement with the new store owners, which became "franchise agreements" and they became the first food company ever to franchise their outlets. Little did the McDonald's
and Burger King
s of the future know, but the idea took hold in other retail establishments, and the age of "franchising
" was underway.
In 1953, they renamed the company Baskin-Robbins, deciding the order of their names with a coin toss. The "31 flavors" concept was introduced that same year to bring attention to a deep menu that featured a flavor for every day of the month.
Baskin-Robbins had 43 stores by the end of 1949, more than 100 by 1960 and about 500 when the ice cream empire was sold to United Fruit Company
for an estimated $12 million in 1967. Six months later, Burt Baskin died of a heart attack at 54. Robbins stayed involved with the company for 11 more years and retired in 1978. 25 years later Baskin-Robbins had become the world's largest chain of ice cream stores, with 5,500 outlets around the world.
Baskin-Robbins is now a part of Dunkin' Brands
.
Robbins died on May 5, 2008 at Eisenhower Medical Center
in Rancho Mirage, California
, according to his daughter, Marsha Veit of Mount Kisco, New York
. He had been in ill health for some time, she said. In the documentary Super Size Me
, John Robbins attributes his father's severe diabetes to a lifetimes worth of heavy consumption of ice cream. However, Irvine Robbins had adult onset diabetes that was not severe.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman. He co-founded the Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irvine Robbins in 1953, from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are...
ice cream parlor
Ice cream parlor
Ice cream parlors are places that sell ice cream and frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is normally sold in two varieties in these stores: soft-serve ice cream , and hard-packed, which has an assortment of flavors, as well as frozen yogurt, which is a low-fat alternative and tastes slightly...
chain in 1945 with his partner and brother-in-law Burt Baskin
Burt Baskin
Burt "Butch" Baskin co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain in 1946 with his partner and brother-in-law Irv Robbins.-Business career:...
.
Early life
Robbins was born in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. His father, Aaron Robbins, owned a dairy and The Olympic Store ice cream business at 954 Court C in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Robbins grew up scooping cones in his family's ice cream store for customers who always seemed to be having a good time. He recalled that he often "finished a day's work happy" and wanted that same feeling when he started his own business.
Irv Robbins attended the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle, was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau
Zeta Beta Tau
Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the nation's first Jewish fraternity, although it is no longer sectarian. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is one of the largest, numbering over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 chapter locations.-Founding:The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was...
fraternity, and graduated with a degree in Political Science. He served in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a Staff Sergeant in California, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was discharged August 1945.
Business career
After getting out of the Army in 1945, he soon opened the Snowbird Ice Cream store on December 7, 1945 in Glendale, CaliforniaGlendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
. Robbins cashed in a $6,000 insurance policy given him for his bar Mitzvah
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
to start the business.
Burt Baskin owned a men's store in the Palmer House
Palmer House
The Palmer House Hilton is a famous and historic hotel in downtown Chicago.-History:There have been three Palmer House Hotels at the corner of State and Monroe Streets in Chicago....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and married Robbins' sister Shirley in 1942. He had enlisted in the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and was released from service early 1946 and came to California, where Robbins convinced him that selling ice cream was more fun than selling men's ties & shirts, and within a couple of months he opened Burton's Ice Cream at 561 So. Lake Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
By 1948, the five Snowbird and three Burton's shops had been combined into a single enterprise, and they had devised their 31st flavor—Chocolate Mint. The partners came to the conclusion that because of the new stores they had opened, they were devoting less and less time to each individual store. "That's when we hit on selling our stores to our managers," Robbins said in the 1985 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
story. "Without realizing it at the time, we were in the franchise business before the word 'franchise' was fashionable. We opened another store and another and another. . . ." They made an agreement with the new store owners, which became "franchise agreements" and they became the first food company ever to franchise their outlets. Little did the McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
s of the future know, but the idea took hold in other retail establishments, and the age of "franchising
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
" was underway.
In 1953, they renamed the company Baskin-Robbins, deciding the order of their names with a coin toss. The "31 flavors" concept was introduced that same year to bring attention to a deep menu that featured a flavor for every day of the month.
Baskin-Robbins had 43 stores by the end of 1949, more than 100 by 1960 and about 500 when the ice cream empire was sold to United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
for an estimated $12 million in 1967. Six months later, Burt Baskin died of a heart attack at 54. Robbins stayed involved with the company for 11 more years and retired in 1978. 25 years later Baskin-Robbins had become the world's largest chain of ice cream stores, with 5,500 outlets around the world.
Baskin-Robbins is now a part of Dunkin' Brands
Dunkin' Brands
Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. runs several chains of fast-food restaurants. It is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts.-History:On December 12, 2005, Pernod Ricard, who had just taken control of Allied Domecq, announced plans to sell the Dunkin' Brands group...
.
Personal life
Robbins married Irma Gevurtz in 1942, just before he went to serve in the U.S. Army. Robbins and Irma had three children: Marsha, John and Erin. (John Robbins is a renowned author of books on health, the environment, and social justice.) Baskin and his wife Shirley had two children, Edie and Richard.Robbins died on May 5, 2008 at Eisenhower Medical Center
Eisenhower Medical Center
The Eisenhower Medical Center is a not-for-profit hospital located in Rancho Mirage, California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospitals in the United States in 2005 and is adjacent to the world-famous Betty Ford Center....
in Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
, according to his daughter, Marsha Veit of Mount Kisco, New York
Mount Kisco, New York
Mount Kisco is a community that is both a village and a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,877 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. He had been in ill health for some time, she said. In the documentary Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
, John Robbins attributes his father's severe diabetes to a lifetimes worth of heavy consumption of ice cream. However, Irvine Robbins had adult onset diabetes that was not severe.