Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published September 2, 2026 2:11 PM
A larger-than-life Thrifty mascot greets visitors at the entrance to the brand's El Monte plant.
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Gab Chabrán
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LAist
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Topline:
A visit to Thrifty Ice Cream's El Monte plant was led by longtime quality assurance manager Tim Briggs, and comes as the brand narrowly survived Rite Aid's 2025 bankruptcy and store closures, much to the concern of thousands of hardcore fans.
Why it matters: Generations of Angelenos grew up on the iconic ice cream, creating an unbreakable emotional connection that continues to this day.
What it was like: Writer Gab Chabrán described it as a visit to SoCal’s version of the Wonka factory, and walking onto the factory floor like walking on hallowed ground. It also reminded him of his Depression-era grandfather, whose only indulgence was a scoop of Rocky Road, a love he passed on to his grandson.
My grandfather, Charles Echternacht, came of age during the Great Depression, and it never left him. I don't think I ever saw him eat at a restaurant. But there was one exception: a boxed half -gallon of Thrifty Ice Cream, orange sherbet or Rocky Road, that my grandmother, Betty, would bring home during her weekly shopping trips. He'd share it with us when we visited their house in Belmont a few times a year.
For many Angelenos, Thrifty Ice Cream stirs a kind of multigenerational nostalgia that's increasingly rare, with memories of summer, family trips, or weekday treats. In summer 2025, when Rite Aid announced it would close all of its locations, there was a howl of despair — how could the ice cream of our youth disappear? People made their case for favorite flavors — Black Cherry, Mint Chip, Medieval Madness — and reminisced about the cool, weird scooper shape and how much they appreciated the truly thrifty prices.
But Thrifty Ice Cream did not melt away. Instead, an investment group tied to Monster Beverage Corporation executives stepped in with a $19 million purchase, and now sells the iconic containers in supermarkets and a few scattered scoop shops. For many, the brand's continued existence since its start back in 1940 feels like nothing short of a miracle.
So when I got an email recently inviting me to tour the factory — SoCal's version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory — it was as if I'd received my own golden ticket. (The brand is expanding onto Shakey's Pizza Parlor menu.)
75,000 gallons a day
When I saw the address, I was surprised to realize that I’d driven past it more times than I could count. It is located in El Monte, only a few neighborhoods over from my hometown of Whittier, off Rosemead Boulevard. The plant has been there since the 1970’s, having moved from its original location in Hollywood. Off a little stretch of winding industrial road, it’s not really visible to passersby until you pull up in front and see their modest signage.
Tim Briggs, a longtime quality assurance manager at Thrifty Ice Cream, leads a tour of the plant's production floor.
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Gab Chabrán
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LAist
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Leading the tour was Tim Briggs, the quality assurance manager, who's worked there since the '80s. He had a long white beard (enclosed in a hairnet that matched the one on his head), and a warm smile, like Santa Claus if Santa had grown up surfing and listening to rock 'n' roll. He wore a custom white coat, embroidered with the Thrifty logo and his name, and walked about with a quiet pride.
I was fitted with a synthetic hairnet, just like the one Briggs wore, and led onto the production floor — the most visceral part of the whole tour. I couldn't believe I was standing on what felt like hallowed ground. If the tasting room was Wonka's chocolate room, this was the factory floor — conveyor belts running in every direction, workers pouring dried milk into massive steel vats, machinery loud enough to feel in your chest.
It's staggering, watching it happen. The plant employs nearly 100 people, though only a handful were on the floor the day I visited — this small crew cycling through Thrifty's current lineup of 64 flavors, based on the month's demand. At full capacity, the plant can turn out up to 75,000 gallons of ice cream a day — something like 2 million scoops, if you're counting. Rocky Road is always saved for last. It's the only flavor in the lineup that isn't kosher, Briggs explained — the marshmallows contain gelatin from animal by-products — which means every line has to be fully cleaned before production can start again.
That day, they were mixing Chocolate Malted Krunch. I'd never been much of a fan before, but once I caught the smell of fresh malt going into the mix — and watched the little white balls that give it its crunch get shot through metal piping before being folded into the rest of the ice cream — I understood the appeal. It's officially my next purchase.
Small malt balls await mixing into a fresh batch of Chocolate Malted Krunch on the production line.
Eventually, we were led to a small tasting area, where a cooler of tubs sat ready to be scooped. Behind it were two rolling coolers decked out in Thrifty ephemera, and on top sat a row of boxed pints. As I looked closer, I realized they were vintage containers, just like the ones my grandfather used to share with my brother and me. And there it was: Rocky Road. I found myself studying the font, the imagery, getting lost in my own little palace of nostalgia.
A vintage Thrifty Rocky Road box, priced at 79 cents for a half gallon — the same flavor Gab Chabran's grandfather used to bring home.
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Gab Chabrán
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LAist
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It was around that point that Briggs pulled out a small photo album of glossy photographs from when the factory was first built, in the same sepia-toned style as the photos that hung on the walls around grandparents' house.
While I didn't sample any Rocky Road this time around, I did get to try some Chocolate Malted Krunch fresh off the line — some of the softest, creamiest ice cream I've ever had. I also sampled their Red, White and Blue sherbet, along with their new Circus Animal Cookie flavor, another one that pulled at the heartstrings for anyone who grew up eating the actual cookies from Mother’s back in the day.
An employee holds open a photo album of archival images from the plant's early years in El Monte.
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Gab Chabrán
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LAist
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After completing my visit, I'm still in awe of what I witnessed that day, off that stretch of Rosemead Boulevard I've driven past countless times. Except now I know exactly what's there — a piece of SoCal history that has touched so many, and continues to, generation after generation, one scoop of Rocky Road and Chocolate Malted Krunch at a time.
Jordan Rynning
has been following this case for months, including interviewing the man at the center of allegations.
Published October 31, 2026 7:00 AM
Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, spoke with LAist on Sept. 16, 2026, about the federal body armor case against him being dismissed.
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Jordan Rynning
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LAist
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Topline:
The L.A. County District Attorney’s office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez earlier this week. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Most serious claims haven’t materialized: Though federal prosecutors made headlines claiming in court documents and on social media that Alvarez was “leading a violent street gang, while claiming to be a gang interventionist for the City,” they have not filed charges related to those claims.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez on Wednesday. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He had served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Why Alvarez’s arrest made headlines: Alvarez was working as a city-contracted peace ambassador in MacArthur Park when he was arrested by federal agents in May. Federal and county prosecutors each brought felony charges against him, claiming he was in possession of body armor as a violent felon.
Bill Essayli, who leads the U.S. Attorney’s office in L.A., pointed to the case on social media to criticize city officials for allowing taxpayer money to be “shelled out to a convicted gang murderer.”
About his criminal record: Judges in federal and state court have now dismissed prosecutors’ felony charges against Alvarez, after U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang found on Sept. 9 that Alvarez did not have a violent felony conviction. Alvarez was 15 when he committed a gang-related murder. He was tried and convicted as an adult in 2002. After a change in state law increased the age at which minors could be sentenced as adults to 16, Alvarez’s case was sent back to juvenile court, and he was released in 2024. At that point, he had served more than 20 years.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday, Oct. 7 that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles.
The ruling is the latest roadblock to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. The strategy was designed to bypass confirmation by the U.S. Senate — something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support.
Essayli “is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote.
The order won’t take effect until the court rules on the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal. Essayli said he doesn’t agree with the court’s order. He said the president and Attorney General “have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.”
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Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
Myrna Velasco (left) performs as Dolores Huerta in “¡Sí Se Puede!” at Boyle Heights City Hall on April 2, 2026.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Topline:
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The backstory: Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Eliana Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring. “There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” Pipes said. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The show's extension had been announced prior to the news that Huerta died Wednesday, Oct. 28., at her Bakersfield home. She was 96 years old.
“There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” said playwright Eliana Pipes. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring.
CSULA seeks memories from underground music scenes
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
CSULA is seeking memorabilia from LA's underground music scenes for its research archives.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles.
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Topline
There’s a whole world of underground Southern California music history that’s hidden in storage boxes — photos, fliers, cassettes and other memorabilia. Research librarians at the California State University, Los Angeles are holding a community archive event on Nov. 5 to ensure the cultural memory of L.A.’s underground music scenes are preserved for future generations.
Why it matters: The memorabilia are the physical remnants of the supportive L.A. communities built around music and enjoyment. But many of these objects languish out of sight, and run the risk of being lost, along with the memories attached to them.
Why now: For four years, archive staff have held an annual day to receive ephemera from the public. They're doing it again on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Read on… to hear how goth, rockabilly and other underground clubs in L.A. inspired the head archivist.
Right around the year 2000, there was a club night in Hollywood called Clockwork Orange. Fans of The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and other bands came for the DJ’s mix of their favorite songs but also for a vibe that welcomed people regardless of race, ethnicity or sexual and gender identity.
“I was a pretty shy person, and so that was a place where I could sort of be myself and express myself,” said Azalea Camacho, a regular there in those days.
She had just graduated from Workman High School in the City of Industry and was also clubbing at rockabilly music nights in Rosemead and goth club nights in downtown L.A.
Camacho said there was lots of memorabilia from those times, such as photos taken in and outside the clubs, ticket stubs and promotional fliers. They're the physical remnants of those supportive communities built around music and enjoyment, but many of them languish in shoeboxes and storage units, at risk of being lost — along with the memories attached to them.
Cal State LA has hosted Sounds of the Underground Archive for the last four years. It's an opportunity for people to donate their underground music scene memorabilia.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles
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“I think the danger is maybe those stories are not being told, or people don't know about the story,” she said.
Keeping stories alive
More than two decades later, Camacho is now in a position to make sure those stories are kept alive. She’s head of special collections and archives at the university library at California State University, Los Angeles.
Four years ago, she and library staff created an annual day for area residents to donate or digitize memorabilia for their Sounds of the Underground Archive. This year it's on Thursday, Nov. 5. They’ll accept physical donations, but they’ll also have a scanner to digitize printed material, so people can keep items that are precious to them.
SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND ARCHIVE
Date: Thursday, Nov. 5 Time: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Location: Cal State LA Library Community Room, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles
Camacho is hoping this year will bring in a bumper amount of memorabilia. It's taken time to get the word out, she said.
“From the actual community archiving day [we’ve collected] maybe 100 or less than 100 items. … It's not a lot,” she said.
She said they're on the lookout for a wide range of mementos, including:
Fliers
Handbills
Zines
Newsletters
Posters
Set lists
Photographs (prints, negatives or digital files)
Cassette tapes, CDs, or vinyl records
Ticket stubs
Wristbands
Band merchandise (stickers, buttons, patches, T-shirts)
DIY press kits or liner notes and correspondence (letters, emails, messages related to music scenes)
Venue or collective ephemera (membership cards, schedules, announcements and more)
