Overview

• A federal judge in New Jersey approved the $19.2 million sale of Thrifty Ice Cream assets to Hilrod Holdings on July 1.
• Hilrod Holdings, backed by Monster Beverage CEO Hilton Schlosberg and ex-co-CEO Rodney Sacks, won the assets at a June 26 court-supervised auction.
• Rite Aid has announced plans to shutter more than 1,000 stores nationwide since its May Chapter 11 filing, closing hundreds of in-store Thrifty counters.
• Greene Family Enterprises, owner of a St. Johns, Florida Rita’s Italian Ice franchise, filed for Chapter 11 on June 9 and Armellino Italian Ices Corp. filed on July 1 with no funds for unsecured creditors.
• Economic pressures including rising costs and pandemic aftereffects have strained ice cream franchise models, prompting multiple bankruptcies and outlet shutdowns among major operators.