Crowds gravitate to Hanoi’s iconic Trang Tien Ice Cream flagship store before closure

The long-time store will stop serving customers from next week.

On Saturday, queues formed continuously at almost every counter in the store, while staff worked without pause, printing receipts, taking payments, and handing out ice cream.

However, many customers were in no hurry to leave.

After getting their ice cream, they lingered to eat, take photographs, and record videos, hoping to preserve memories of a place that has been part of Hanoi's everyday life for generations.

"I've eaten ice cream at this shop many times, but I never realized it had been here for nearly 70 years," said Hong Nhung, a resident of Cau Giay.

"When I heard it was closing, I made time to come here and take some photos with the shop."

Hoai Nam, from Ba Dinh, said he had been eating ice cream there since childhood.

"I'm very sorry to see the shop close,” he said.

“I brought my wife and children to the shop on the weekend to have ice cream and revisit old memories.”

Understanding the emotions surrounding the farewell, Trang Tien Ice Cream set aside part of a wall for customers to leave personal messages for the shop.

Within just a few days, the wall was completely covered.

One message read, "Goodbye Trang Tien Ice Cream, the ice cream of my childhood."

Another simply said, "I love Trang Tien so much."

A different visitor wrote, "I really love Trang Tien ice cream.”

Among the Vietnamese messages were letters written in foreign languages, with some visitors adding the dates of their visits.

Lease expiration brings an end to an era

The shop at 35 Trang Tien will stop serving customers on Tuesday, ending nearly seven decades of business at the address that has helped establish the brand’s iconic status.

Regular customers are being directed to three other Trang Tien Ice Cream locations, including 18 Hang Bai, 44 Trang Tien, and 18 Ngo Quyen.

Tran Duc Trung, who oversees operations across the Trang Tien Ice Cream chain in Hanoi, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper on September 5 that the closure was prompted by the expiration of the property's lease.

Employees currently working at 35 Trang Tien will be reassigned to other outlets.

Trang Tien Ice Cream currently operates 11 stores in Hanoi and has around 500 distributors nationwide, meaning the closure of the historic location will not affect the brand's ability to serve customers elsewhere, he said.

Founded in 1958, Trang Tien Ice Cream has become one of Hanoi's best-known food brands.

In 2020, after more than six decades of maintaining its familiar visual identity, the brand redesigned its logo and packaging for the first time.

Trang Tien Ice Cream is owned by Trang Tien Ice Cream JSC, a subsidiary of One Capital Hospitality JSC (OCH), which is listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.