After just six weeks in business, Detroit Artisan Ice Cubes is already working at capacity
“We’re up to 13 cubes a week,” says founder Larry Petrangelo. “With just three makers, we can’t make more and guarentee quality.” The three – who also include former airline executive Madeline Fare and part-time tree trimmer Tricia Northman – spend up to 12 hours producing a single cube. Prices start at $160 apiece.
Each cube is made of 1.4 ounces of water, compared to the standard 1.2. They’re frozen for 17.4 hours, compared to an average of 2.2 in refrigerator ice trays. Working in their Eastern Market maker space – a former styrofoam-cup storage room – the three utilize retro-fitted surgeons’ tools to shape and shine each cube to perfection.
“If we’re not satisfied we’ll throw the cube out and start over,” says Patrengelo. “Even if we’ve already put four or five hours into it.”
Klots – the upscale Midtown eatery that utilizes trained llamas to deliver appetizers – has been buying as many cubes as it can get.
“They’re gone within 20 minutes,” says owner Sheila Belleville, noting that customers eagerly pay $850 for a craft vodka & tonic with artisan ice cubes, when they’d normally pay only $495. “We’d triple our order if they could make more,” she says.
Petrangelo hopes to get to 19 cubes per week by the end of the year. He’s looking at monogrammed cubes, gift packages – and even non-cubed cubes. Also on his to-do list is devising some way to keep the ice cubes cold.
“Experience has shown us,” he says, “that after a couple hours they start to melt.”
