The idea started in front of the Philadelphia Mint. In 1988, a high school student named Jeremiah Litwack sold Italian ice to passersby, dreaming of a bigger version of the same simple product. By 1993 he had set out to build a market for Italian ice in the Southeast; by 2019, the brand he founded — Jeremiah’s Italian Ice — had grown to 300 locations and a devoted following that calls itself the Frog Squad.
This summer, that expansion reached Fairhope, at 18173 Wright Boulevard near the new Publix on South Greeno Road — and the town’s ice cream habits may never quite recover.
What Italian Ice Actually Is
For the uninitiated — and Fairhope is full of them — Italian ice is not gelato and not a slushy. It is a dairy-free, water-based frozen dessert churned fine enough to spoon like soft ice cream, with fruit flavors that read bright rather than creamy. Jeremiah’s signature move is the Gelati: a cup where the Italian ice is layered with rich vanilla soft serve, so each spoonful cuts between the two. Mango layered over vanilla is the classic gateway; salted caramel layered over vanilla is the one that converts skeptics.
Staff at the Fairhope shop make the education part of the experience, offering taste tests until each customer finds a combination. First-timers tend to order just soft serve; veterans will tell you the magic is in the layering, where the refreshing ice and the cream trade off in alternating bites.
The Flavors That Keep Families Coming Back
The menu rotates, but a few combinations have already claimed favorite status among the shop’s early regulars: piña colada mixed with vanilla soft serve, mango with vanilla, and salted caramel with vanilla. Cookie crumbles and other extravagant add-ons are available for those who want dessert to behave like a sundae. The patio out front — with indoor seating and curbside service — has become an impromptu playground: board games spread on the sidewalk, kids plotting their next flavor, parents admitting this is the third visit of the week.
The shop stays open late — hours run until 11 p.m. — which makes it the natural last stop after a Fairhope evening, and the phone number at the counter (251.517.7034) handles the rest.
Why It Fits Fairhope
Fairhope has never lacked for frozen treats, but Jeremiah’s adds a category the Eastern Shore didn’t really have: fast, inexpensive, made-to-order cold desserts from a national brand that still feels like a local ice cream stand. The company’s slogan — “Live Life to the Coolest” — is the kind of thing a marketing department writes, but on a July evening with a piña colada Gelati in hand, it is hard to argue with.
For snowbirds and summer families who make Fairhope an annual pilgrimage, the shop is already functioning as a tradition in the making — the kind of place you rush home and tell the rest of the family about, then visit four more times before the vacation clock runs out. And when the Pacific Northwest calls you back? The craving — regulars will confirm — survives the trip.
Jeremiah’s Italian Ice is at 18173 Wright Blvd, Fairhope, near the Publix on South Greeno Road, open daily until 11 p.m. Order the layering — and thank the staff for the education.