[3] His father, Aaron Robbins, owned a dairy and The Olympic Store ice cream business at 954 Court C in Tacoma, Washington, US.
Robbins grew up scooping cones in his family's ice cream store for customers who always seemed to be having a good time.
He recalled that he often "finished a day's work happy" and wanted that same feeling when he started his own business.
[4] Irv Robbins attended the University of Washington in Seattle, was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, and graduated with a degree in Political Science.
[4] Burt Baskin owned a men's store in the Palmer House in Chicago, and married Robbins' sister Shirley in 1942.
Little did the McDonald's and Burger Kings of the future know, but the idea took hold in other retail establishments, and the age of "franchising" was underway.
[4] Baskin-Robbins had 43 stores by the end of 1949, more than 100 by 1960 and about 500 when the ice cream empire was sold to United Fruit Company for an estimated $12 million in 1967.