Baskin-Robbins was founded by Jewish brothers-in-law, Irv Robbins and Burt Baskin. But did you know that Robbins used money he saved from his Bar Mitzvah to open his first ice cream store?
Irvine ‘Irv’ Robbins was born in 1917 to Jewish immigrants in Winnipeg. Growing up, Robbins worked at his father’s ice cream store in Tacoma, WA. At his Bar Mitzvah, he received a $6,000 insurance policy as a gift, which he later cashed in to fund his business. In 1945, Robbins opened his first store, the Snowbird Ice Cream parlor in Glendale, California.
The following year, Robbins convinced his brother-in-law Burt Baskin to join him in the ice cream business. By 1953, they named the company Baskin-Robbins, and today it is the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops.
