Irv Robbins

Irvine "Irv" Robbins (December 6, 1917 – May 5, 2008) was a Canadian-born American businessman renowned as the co-founder of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, which revolutionized the industry with its emphasis on flavor variety and franchising. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to a Jewish family, he immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, where his family's ice cream parlors sparked his lifelong passion for the treat.

Robbins opened his first ice cream shop, Snowbird Ice Cream, in Glendale, California, on December 7, 1945, shortly after his discharge from the U.S. Army, using $6,000 from a cashed-in insurance policy to stock 21 innovative flavors that went beyond traditional options like vanilla and chocolate. In 1948, he partnered with his brother-in-law Burton "Burt" Baskin, merging their separate ventures into a single operation that was officially renamed Baskin-Robbins in 1953, reflecting their shared vision of making ice cream an everyday indulgence through creative experimentation. The duo pioneered the famous "31 flavors" concept in 1953—one for each day of the month—which propelled the chain's growth to over 500 stores by 1967, when they sold it to the United Fruit Co. for approximately $12 million while retaining operational control.

He was born to Jewish immigrant parents, Aaron Robbins, who emigrated from Poland, and Goldie Robbins, who emigrated from Russia; the family's original surname was Rabinovich, which was anglicized to Robbins upon immigration.

Irvine "Irv" Robbins was born on December 6, 1917, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Jewish immigrant parents Aaron, who emigrated from Poland, and Goldie, who emigrated from Russia. In 1923, the family relocated to Seattle, Washington, where they settled on Capitol Hill, marking their entry into the United States. Later in the 1920s, they moved again to Tacoma, where Aaron purchased the Olympic Dairy company, which included an ice cream parlor in downtown Tacoma at 954 Court C.

Raised in a Jewish family, Robbins observed traditions such as writing personalized thank-you notes for gifts, a practice he began at his bar mitzvah and instilled in his own children and grandchildren. His sister Shirley's marriage to Burt Baskin on October 10, 1943, further intertwined the immediate and extended family, blending personal ties with shared professional endeavors.