Thrifty Ice Cream plant, located in El Monte, is a creamery celebrating 70 years in operation this year. I see the eye-catching sign on my way to the credit union. The ice cream plant is about half a block away from Supervisor Gloria Molina's field office, near a forest of beautiful trees. There is something comforting about the plant, aside from the cute sign. The place has a very clean exterior, very neat and tidy. It is good to know that there is manufacturing going on in Los Angeles County, and that it is sustaining a set of employees who have probably raised several generations since the plant opened in 1940.
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour
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| Farrell's had a restaurant in Rosemead on the west side of Rosemead Boulevard, just south of Valley Boulevard, and it looked similar to the one above. I remember going there in the mid-1970s. (Image from Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurants) |
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| Today, the site is a popular Chinese seafood restaurant. (Click on images to zoom in) |
[Update 11-2016: Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant is listed in Jonathan Gold's 101 Best Restaurants 2016 at number 88 - phew - number 88 is a good number. The guide describes Sea Harbour as the Hong Kong equivalent of Spago.]
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| Upon driving into the parking lot of the seafood restaurant there is a large rooster (I think) to greet you. Could this be leftover from Farrell's? Or left behind from another Chinese restaurant at this location? |
Today Farrell's is making a comeback in Orange County. Farrell's obtains their ice cream from ...Thrifty's!
