Monarch Food Mart sells out of ice almost every day during the summer, according to one employee.
Jordan has worked in the ice business for 22 years. That wasn’t really his intention, but after taking some classes at UT Austin and learning about production and distribution, he charted a course that led him to own Ice Works. The company grew over the years and is now one of the major distributors of bagged ice in the city, providing ice to thousands of businesses from Lampasas to Llano and major events like the Austin City Limits festival.
“During our summer months, we will harvest twice a day; it takes about 12 hours,” he said. “Since summer began, we've been averaging around 35 blocks a day. Sometimes we're going through as much as 45 or 50 blocks.” Leftover blocks get sold to other shaved ice vendors in town.