New dessert spot in McKinney does gourmet Italian ice with a literal twist

A new dessert option has landed in North Texas, straight out of Orlando, Florida: Called Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, it’s a gourmet rendition of frozen ice said to be a favorite of dessert connoisseurs, and it will make its Texas debut in McKinney. According to a release, it will open in late spring.

The first location will open at 7820 Eldorado Pkwy., and is owned by Megan Bourke, who worked at one of the Florida locations while in college.

This location is the first of three, with two more still to be announced.

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice was founded in Florida 23 years ago, and adds a new twist to its menu that elevates it from the usual (though certainly noble) shaved ice stand. In addition to frozen ice, they also feature soft-service ice cream. The two have inevitably partnered up.

This means you can get more than the usual Italian ice in a cup. You can get:

• Italian ice
• soft serve ice cream
• a soft-serve flavor twist
• a combination of Italian ice and soft serve ice cream

“Real Italian ice is hard to find,” says CEO and founder, Jeremy Litwack, in a release. “After all, it’s not just frozen ice – it’s creamy, smooth, and decadent, with flavor packed into every bite, and is sure to help locals beat the heat. I look forward to introducing Texans to an exciting, new product that they may not be familiar with. You can’t find real Italian ice in Texas – yet.”

Actually, Texas has had Italian ice chains open here previously, but they did not survive. There is also a Philadelphia-style ice stand concept called Rita’s, which has three locations in the mid-cities. And then there are the indigenous shaved ice stands that exist in every town across DFW.

But let’s not rain on Jeremy’s enthusiasm.

Jeremiah’s boasts more than 40 flavors including raspberry, strawberry lemon mango, cotton candy, sour green apple, root beer, cherry, and seasonal flavors like pumpkin and gingerbread. The soft ice cream comes in two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.

That synthesis of these two categories is called Jeremiah’s Gelati. Layers of Italian ice are swirled with the soft ice cream, offering a modern evolution of frozen ice.

The company just began franchising. They currently have 22 corporate locations and one franchise location in Florida. The unidentified franchisee in McKinney worked at Jeremiah’s in Florida, and is still negotiating her lease, whose address she will therefore not share until the lease is signed.

In addition to McKinney, they have franchise arrangements for stores in Cedar Park, Leander, Austin, and Temple.

Source: https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/01-07-20-jeremiahs-ice-orlando-florida/