Good Ice brings handcrafted custom ice cubes to cocktails all over St. Louis

Cocktails around St. Louis have started to look even more enticing than usual thanks to Good Ice. Founded by bar veteran and current beverage director for Salt + Smoke Jordan Goodman, this family business crafts artisanal ice, filtered from impurities for a crystal clear finish. For even more impact, Good Ice creates ice with custom designs and branded logos for restaurants, bars and private events.

As Goodman explains, the idea for Good Ice came from years of working in local bars and restaurants. "I started cutting ice eight years ago for a cocktail program I was running. We were hand-cutting clear ice cubes using Igloo coolers. We didn't sell a ton of them, but it became a hobby. Then I moved to Olive + Oak and started cutting for them. The demand started growing, and people loved the product. I saw how people were reacting to it and reached out to Tim Wiggins at Yellowbelly. He said they were opening Lazy Tiger and was interested in me cutting ice there. That is when I knew I had a product that bars were interested in."

As his vision for Good Ice solidified, Goodman turned to those around him for help. "It started with my mom making a small investment and then me doing all the work." he says. "Then we gathered a small group of family and friend investors."

Custom ice cubes for Sado on The Hill.

Joining Goodman in this new venture was Kyle Gillespie, a longtime bar manager at several establishments, who shared Goodman's frustration over the accessibility of custom cutting ice. Together, they worked on ways to expand the business locally, which was slow at first. "In February 2020, I noticed there were a couple of companies on the West Coast doing designer ice. I had seen it work there and knew it would also work here. So, I followed their business model and decided to give it a go," Goodman adds.

Good Ice launched with four accounts: O+O Pizza, Olive + Oak, Lazy Tiger and Lucky Accomplice, which Goodman sees as a plus. "It was a blessing that we started slowly," he says. "We didn't know how to scale this business and there's a huge learning curve because there aren't many people doing this kind of business. Basically, there was no blueprint. We had to figure a lot of stuff out on our own." By 2021, the company began gaining momentum. "We started with one account a month and then two accounts per month. Then things took off."

The business has become a juggernaut that currently services thirty restaurants and bars regularly, including core clients Olive + Oak, Lucky Accomplice and Lazy Tiger, along with newer clients like Niche Food Group, Olio, Grand Spirits, The Gin Room and Sado. Good Ice also handles one-off events, including weddings and special events.

The secret to their success is their dedication to creating a perfect product. In order to ensure every cube is uniform, Good Ice uses a directional freezing, a five-day process where 300-pound clear ice blocks are frozen in Clinebell machines, which use a cold plate to freeze blocks from the bottom up. A water pump near the top of the blocks circulates water to prevent ice from forming on the surface and removes any minerals and impurities. Once frozen, the team uses a chainsaw to carve the ice into sheets.

Next, a C+C machine (which works similarly to an automated drill) engraves the designated logo onto the sheets, which are then packed in snow and covered with water to freeze them in place. Once frozen, a band saw is used to carve the sheets into ice cubes. Then, the cubes are hand-polished and frozen for 24 hours before heading out for delivery.

"We take really big ice and make it smaller and smaller until it fits into a glass," Goodman says, which makes it sound simpler than it is. "We have some really great bars and restaurants that use specific glassware. So, if we are off by a tenth of an inch, the cubes won't fit into the glass. If the cubes are too small the drink won't fill up a glass. So, the cubes need to be exactly right."

Good Ice creates custom ice for corporate and special events.

Thanks to a some high-profile clients and some attention-grabbing social media posts, interest in his creations has created new revenue. "The newest growth has come from weddings and events and corporate stuff. That makes a lot of sense because we can do custom work," he says. "When I first started out, I didn't know anything about being a wedding vendor. Now, a third of our business comes from doing wedding expos. It is not necessarily where I thought we would be, but it is great and amazing."

Driven by hospitality and customer service, Good Ice's products are available to order online and sold in insulated boxes at Grand Spirits and The Gin Room. But as Goodman acknowledges, his aspirations do not stop there: "My overarching goal for this company is putting out a really fantastic product."

Goodman is currently working on growing the events side of the business, and the etched ice is running smoothly. And there are other things he's thought about that could be in the works for the future. "We haven't gotten into ice carving much, even though we have the capability," he says. "That is an avenue we could pursue."

The passion Goodman has for his craft is palpable, and he shows no signs of slowing down. "It has been an incredible journey. I am proud that we created a product that did not exist before. The work that has gone into it fuels the passion for what we have and what we have done."

For more information about products or to order online, visit Good Ice's website.

Good Ice, goodicestl.com

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