Andrew Amron, PhD makes his living by freezing water.
After completing a doctorate program in modern U.S. history, Andrew started teaching at Santa Fe College to build his reputation as a professor. But his after-hours work as a bar manager ended up jump-starting an entirely different career path instead.
After catching an informational TV episode about how to make clear ice, Andrew started freezing and cutting ice to elevate the cocktails he served.
These clear ice blocks didn’t just enhance presentation. By eliminating air bubbles, clear ice melts slower and has less extraneous flavors than cloudy ice.
While Andrew was serving beautiful drinks to his patrons, his wife Kristin was wrangling with silicone ice molds as the bar manager at Dragonfly. She urged him to take his ice-making commercial with the promise that she’d be his first client.
Her persistence paid off when Andrew became The Gainesville Ice Doctor.
Starting in a 1,000 sq. ft. space, Andrew started a clear cocktail ice business that lets people enjoy their drinks for longer. The Gainesville Ice Doctor now services 90 – 95 different accounts across Florida and Georgia.
The business’s growth is all organic, thanks to networking through the U.S. Bartenders Guild and word of mouth. Once one bar in a city started using Ice Doctor ice, other bars were looking to step their presentation up in response.
Five years into his business, Andrew is happy to report that he owns 100% of the company. You can still catch him cutting up ice in full winter gear, behind the wheel of the delivery van, or enjoying some of his “desk whiskey”.
Though he’s interested in a second location along I-4, Andrew is leaning towards keeping his business in Gainesville, a city he fell in love with back in 2000.
You can stop by The Gainesville Ice Doctor’s 10th Avenue location to buy clear ice for your own freezer. You’ll pay the same rate as bar owners – just 60¢ a piece – for longer-lasting, beautiful cocktails at home.
Listen to the 151st episode of the WHOA GNV podcast for a full update from these Gainesville entrepreneurs.
