Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

by Farrell's

1963 – 2019 GONE FOREVER

Gone. The last Farrell's, in Brea, California, closed on June 8, 2019, months after Buena Park. The original chain had mostly closed by 1990; a 2009 revival opened seven Southern California parlours before they failed one by one.

Last verified Nov 9, 2026

An old-fashioned ice cream parlour that opened in Portland in 1963 and grew to about 130 locations within a decade. It nearly vanished by 1990, came back, and closed for good in 2019.

🧾 One more thingHotel company Marriott owned the chain in the 1970s, when it had about 130 parlours. The last revival even attracted Marcus Lemonis of CNBC's The Profit, who bought into the brand in 2016. It still closed three years later.

Filed under: Frozen & Dairy · the ’70s & earlier

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📅 Timeline

1963Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy opened the first Farrell's in Portland, Oregon.
1971Marriott bought the chain, which had about 130 parlours, according to FSR Magazine.
1990After a 1988 sale to a San Francisco investor group, most locations had closed.
2009Parlour Enterprises bought the brand and opened new Southern California locations.
2016Marcus Lemonis invested in the brand; the Mission Viejo parlour closed in January.
2019The Buena Park parlour closed in January and the last one, in Brea, on June 8.

❓ People also ask

Are there any Farrell's Ice Cream Parlours left?

No. The last one, in Brea, California, closed in June 2019.

Who owned Farrell's?

Founders Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy, then Marriott from the early 1970s, later investor groups, and finally Parlour Enterprises, with Marcus Lemonis as an investor.

🧾 Sources

FSR Magazine, The Last Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Don Pablo's Shutter (2019)
Wikipedia, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour (2026)
Archives West, Photographs of Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, approximately 1963-1975 (2026)

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