It just kind of occurred to me the other day that the Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop that I first went to as a toddler is still in business, at the same location, and seems to be doing well. It has to have been there close to thirty years by now. That’s when I realized that the other two BRs that I ever went to as a kid are still in business, and they have to be pushing twenty at least.
Considering all the other businesses I’ve seen rise and fall around them over the years, including other franchises, that seems like a nifty little accomplishment.
But maybe I just live in a flukey part of the country that just really likes it’s ice cream. So I’m asking: has anyone else ever seen a Baskin-Robbins location go out of business?
The Dunkin Donuts I used to work for expanded to include a small-sized Baskin Robbins. The last time I went back, no more Baskin Robbins. The entire process took less than 10 years.
Also, I seem to recall there being one in Lincoln Plaza in Worcester when I was growing up. It’s not there now.
I loved the Baskin-Robbins which was on PCH in Redondo Beach when I lived there. The last time I visited, it had been replaced with a Chinese restaurant…
Yep, this happened here too, but it took less than half the time. I don’t think it was even there three years.
There used to be a Baskin Robbins on the way to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA. It doesn’t seem to exist any more. There was one in the mall in Methuen, MA too, but they tore the whole thing down to build free-standing stores (“The Loop”) and Baskin Robbins didn’t survive the transition. Since those are both gone, none of the ones I went to 30 years ago still exist. In fact, I just plugged my zipcode into their store finder, and it gave me 0 results, so there aren’t any around me any more.
I’ve seen them disappear. There used to be one on Mass Ave. in Cambridge near Central Square in my student days, and it’s long gone. There was a Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts at a plaza not far from my house. Not only is the Baskin Robbins half gone, but there’s a new ice cream place in the same plaza.
There used to be one right off campus, in the little strip mall next to Memorial Coliseum. I don’t know when it opened, but it was there when I started college in the fall of 94. It’s been gone 3 or 4 years now, replaced with an independent ice cream shop in the same location.
That was the one I was going to mention. Last I knew, there was a Homemade Pizza Co. there, which looked really odd under the distinctive BR architecture.
I know of two in Little Rock that closed. One in the early 1980’s. The other opened across from the University around 1993. It closed within a year or two. Reopened for a summer and closed.
It just wasn’t drawing the college crowd. The grocery stores sell pretty high end ice cream these days. Baskin Robbins just isn’t that special like it was in the 70’s.
Yep. There was one near my house that I used to occasionally go to, my dad would talk about going to it when he was a kid too. It made me sad to see that it was no longer there as of a couple years ago. From what I’ve seen, they’re being combined with Dunkin’ Donuts in those half/half fast food joints.
The one I went to in junior high school closed while I was in college. A different one opened up nearby (shape shopping center, different location therein) about five years back.