Why Hanoi's Trang Tien Ice Cream shop is closing

The Trang Tien Ice Cream shop at 35 Trang Tien Street will stop serving customers on September 15, closing a location that has sold the brand's ice cream for nearly 70 years.

Trần Đức Trung, who oversees operations across the company's Hanoi system, said the lease for the property had expired. He described the closure as part of the company's business plan and said closing one outlet is a normal part of running a business.

Employees from the shop will move to other locations, including the newer outlets at 18 Hang Bai and 44 Trang Tien. The chain currently has 11 shops in Hanoi. Trung said he did not yet have a precise forecast for the effect on sales, but customers had already begun visiting both nearby outlets during the recent holiday period. That helped distribute sales and reduce long queues.

“

As a Hanoian myself, I also feel very sorry. The leaders of the group and the ice cream company share that feeling.

The closure has not yet significantly reduced traffic at 35 Trang Tien, Trung said, because the news was announced only a few days ago. Many customers arriving for ice cream have nevertheless taken photos and videos as keepsakes. The company also operates about 500 agents across Vietnam, so customers in other localities will not be affected.

Trung said the decision was difficult because the shop was still selling well and represented a heritage location for the company. "As a Hanoian myself, I also feel very sorry. The leaders of the group and the ice cream company share that feeling," he said. He added that the brand's heritage focus made closing such a location especially difficult, though the company believed some parts of the business needed to change and develop. Trang Tien Ice Cream was established in 1958 and kept its old visual identity for more than 60 years before changing its logo and packaging in 2020.

“

All the products we make are oriented toward heritage, so deciding to close a heritage location was not easy.