Beloved Black-owned frozen treat truck is expanding to brick-and-mortar on LA’s famed Melrose Avenue
Happy Ice, the Los Angeles-based frozen treat truck founded by Black entrepreneur and Philadelphia native Lemeir Mitchell, opens its first storefront location in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 20th in spite of countless delays and overwhelming obstacles. They will even be featuring limited edition flavors such as Cotton Candy Crush and Strawberry Banana Lush. Best of all, will be releasing their Vegan Soft serve soon, which is allergen free!
Happy Ice is a colorful, flavorful and smile inducing riff on the Philadelphia classic “water ice,” which has a smooth, rich, creamy texture reminiscent of ice cream and the light, fruity refreshment of a sorbet – all without any egg, nut or dairy products of any kind.
Happy Ice was founded as a food truck concept in 2017 by Lemeir Mitchell, whose story is nothing short of awe-inspiring. After his father was incarcerated with a life-sentence in prison and his brother passed away unexpectedly, Mitchell, realizing tomorrow is promised for no one, left his beloved hometown of Philadelphia to pursue his dream of becoming a leading tattoo artist on the premier Los Angeles stage. Mitchell found a shop on Melrose Avenue where he began tattooing and slept on the shop floor to make ends meet. During this time, he fell in love with the Los Angeles food truck culture, and the idea for Happy Ice was born.
“So many different races bring a piece of their hometown to Los Angeles, and that is what sparked my idea for creating Happy Ice. I didn’t create Happy Ice just for business reasons, I created Happy Ice because I was a consumer myself,” says Mitchell. “I missed being able to get water ice with my friends, laughing and catching up while eating it. So, I decided to create that experience in LA for myself and to share it with everyone else. Happiness is universal – there’s a word for it in every language. I want help create that feeling for people worldwide, so the name Happy Ice fit perfectly. I want Happy Ice to be a symbol of unity and a better future – our vision is for this shop to be a place of peace, happiness and laughter. We aren’t just out here to sell a product, we are delivering happiness in a cup, and we are so excited to welcome Angelenos into our doors.”
After the first Happy Ice truck started its engine in late 2017, the concept quickly gained popularity with its eye-catching, vegan-friendly, super-refreshing treats, and celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Post Malone were soon seen and photographed paying the truck a visit. In 2018, a chance encounter between Mitchell and investor Ted Foxman led to a nearly $1 million investment into Happy Ice that expanded its truck fleet and kick-started the opening of this new brick-and-mortar location.
“Lemeir is an inspirational person and is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. He was dealt a tough hand at the beginning of his life, so supporting this young Black man as he pours his heart and soul into making this business a success has been one of the greatest joys of my life,” said Foxman. “Happy Ice is on the verge of becoming an iconic household brand that brings joy to everyone it touches, and we can’t wait to share our passion and the product of Lemeir’s labor when we open the doors of the LA shop this weekend.”
Happy Ice’s storefront sits at 7324 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles and will host a welcoming celebration on Saturday, June 20th from 2pm to 10pm. The grand opening comes after many COVID-related setbacks and Mitchell personally standing guard in front of the store, for days and nights on end, handing out Happy Ice to protesters to prevent the store’s destruction in the midst of the recent rioting and looting in Los Angeles.
In advance of the grand opening, Happy Ice trucks will serve up limited edition Black Ice flavors for $5 on Friday, June 19th to commemorate Juneteenth – the day slavery was abolished in the United States. One of the all-black flavors, Black Lemon, will serve as both a symbolic reminder of the sour history of the American Black community, and the hope for a refreshing new start moving forward. 100% of the June 19th profits will be donated to Black charities.
For more information on Happy Ice, visit the website and follow @happyice on Instagram.
About Happy Ice
Founded in 2017, Happy Ice is an ultra-premium Water Ice product that is made from a secret recipe from Philadelphia with an artistic LA twist. It has the smooth, rich, creamy texture of an ice cream and the light, fruity refreshment of a sorbet, without egg or dairy products of any kind. The resulting combinations is an incredibly delicious and vibrant explosion of colors and flavors that brings happiness to any situation. It’s also vegan-friendly and contains no nut products, so nearly everyone can enjoy the incredible experience of Happy Ice.
I want to open a happy ice in Florida