OBITUARY:

Irvine “Irv” Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins who opened the first franchise of the ice cream store in Glendale in 1948, died on Monday at his home in Rancho Mirage. He was 90.

Robbins opened the first ice cream shop, the Snowbird, in Glendale in 1945. The business featured 21 flavors of ice cream.

He joined forces with his brother-in-law Burton Baskin and in 1953 started Baskin-Robbins at 804 N. Glendale Ave. and adopted 31 flavors.

The idea of “31 flavors” came about when the owners decided to offer a new ice cream flavor for every day of the month.

“All of the Baskin-Robbins employees, franchisees and licensees are saddened by the loss of Irv Robbins,” a company statement said. “Along with his brother-in-law Burt Baskin, Irv was a pioneer in both the ice cream and franchising business and leaves behind a great and enduring legacy.”

That legacy wasn’t lost on area residents.

Glendale native Dorie Biggs recalls when the ice cream chain set up shop at 1130 S. Adams St. in 1948.

“My two older boys had a newspaper route on Adams Hill and they spent every money they made there,” Biggs said. “I remember buying lots of ice cream cones there. It was always very popular in the neighborhood.”

Longtime Glendale resident Margaret Hammond also frequented Baskin-Robbins, which was walking distance from her home.

“Once a week my daughter and I would go there and people would come to get ice cream from there,” Hammond said. “There was a drug store there and a lot of people came there. It had a soda bar.”

In 1949, Baskin and Robbins also started their own production facility in Burbank. They placed a giant “31” outside of every store, decorated with pink and brown polka dots to represent chocolates and cherries and promoted their variety of flavors.

The flavors grew to more than 1,000 varieties and included favorites such as Jamoca Almond Fudge and Pralines ’n’ Cream, which was developed by Robbins and his wife, Irma in their home kitchen.

By the 1950s, Baskin-Robbins expanded throughout California and by the mid-1960s the company grew to 400 stores throughout the United States.

Now, Baskin-Robbins sells ice cream in more than 30 countries.

Robbins was born on Dec. 6, 1917, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He is survived by his wife, Irma, and three children Marsha, John and Erin.