The former lemonade stand, Island Lemonade Shakers, will be operating under new ownership and entering into its first brick and mortar location at 1700 W New Haven Ave, within the Melbourne Square Shopping Mall in Melbourne, according to a recent filing with the State of Florida.
Owner and founder Eric Freshwater tells What Now Orlando the story of Island Lemonade Shakers from the beginning—“We started out as a lemonade cart in Medford, Oregon, it went really well and I bought a food truck. Unfortunately, a fire in southern Oregon burned down our food truck.” The fires that Freshwater refers to were the 2020 Oregon wildfires, the most destructive wildfires in state history, burning over a million acres of land.
“Fortunately, we teamed up with Rogue Food Unites and were able to feed many victims of the fire around a year, ultimately giving out 10,000 meals,” Freshwater adds, explaining that after weighing options in the aftermath of the fires, he and his family chose to relocate to the Space Coast and start anew.
When asked if the offerings at the mall store will change, Freshwater is resoundingly affirmative — “We used to do Hawaiian food, but now we’re doing burgers and state fair food, like hand-dipped corn dogs, korean flaming hot cheeto bowls, island macaroni, and a stuffed hamburger called Jucy Lucy.”
And when the topic of the restaurant’s signature lemonade comes up, Freshwater is no less enthusiastic—“Our lemonade is actually, literally fresh-squeezed. We cut, squeeze, mix, and shake our lemonade by hand. No corn syrup, cane sugar only, non-GMO. I believe we have the freshest lemonade in the entire world.”
Freshwater is currently building a team and going through inspections and plans to open soon.
