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By: Kathryn McNutt The Journal Record June 6, 2022 0

Developer Brandon Lodge says this historic building is “the crown jewel” of The Icehouse Project in downtown Edmond. He envisions it as a nice restaurant and cocktail bar.  (Photo by Kathryn McNutt)

EDMOND – Three businesses are open and two more are building out at The Icehouse Project mixed-use development in downtown Edmond.

Developer Brandon Lodge said a brewery and a creamery are on track to start serving customers in September, despite construction delays and a 30% increase in materials and labor costs.

Tulsa’s American Solera craft brewery is opening a second location at the Edmond site, while Lodge and Patrick Myers are opening the urban creamery they’ve dreamed about for more than four years.

The only space not yet spoken for in the $6 million, 15,000-square-foot development – which lies across the tracks west of Edmond’s Festival Market Place – is the historic building many locals refer to as “the icehouse,” even though the original Edmond Ice Co. building is only a memory.

“The icehouse doesn’t exist. It was torn down at some point,” Lodge said. “The building everyone calls the icehouse was Edmond’s first creamery.”

Records show the original building was constructed in 1901 and the ice plant opened for business in 1910, fulfilling a daily demand of 4 to 5 tons of ice. The creamery building, completed in 1921 just south of the original structure, is the only remaining building of the former Edmond Ice Co. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

“The icehouse transformed American culture. It’s why we drink cold beer, cold soda and cold water,” Lodge said. “They became the community gathering spot – and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Three 50-year-old metal buildings on the site – configured to form a courtyard – are perfect for serving customers who can eat and drink at outdoor tables. Active children can enjoy the play area while their parents enjoy conversation and music.

The historic creamery building “is the crown jewel and the reason I got into the project, but the courtyard is the heart and soul,” Lodge said.

The Fried Taco and Woodward Pizza Co., serving Detroit-style pizza, share one of the metal buildings. The brewery will occupy another, and the third one will house the urban creamery. Prelude Coffee Roasters of Oklahoma City and I’s Bakery of Edmond are on board to set up shop in the creamy, Lodge said.

“Our tenant mix is fantastic. They are going to feed off each other,” he said. “I think the brewery will draw a lot of business for the food concepts.”

Plans call for a greenhouse on-site to grow produce, which the restaurants will use. Spent grain from the brewery will be taken to Myers’ family dairy farm in Cushing to feed cows, and the cows’ milk will be brought back to the creamery to make cheese and ice cream.

Lodge and Myers first began looking for a good site for an urban creamery that could save the dairy farm, but in the process leaned a lot about the food supply and food insecurity.

“Initially it was a cool concept, but it took an important turn (during the pandemic). This is crucial and critical to start considering,” Lodge said.

His hope is The Icehouse Project get people to ask: “Where does my food come from and why should I care?”

Lodge first got involved in the project with developer Chip Fudge, who owned the historic site. He purchased the property and project from Fudge in 2019 with development partners Myers and Russell Moore.

A second historic building at the site was a stable for horses that were used to help delivery blocks of ice to customers. It has been transformed into The Stables, a small event center for parties of 40 or fewer people that is open for business.

The tenant for “the icehouse” that started the whole project has yet to be determined.

“I always want local tenants. I haven’t found the right tenant yet,” Lodge said. “It probably will be a nice restaurant and cocktail bar.”

Tagged with: Festival Market Place Focus on Edmond the creamery The Icehouse Project

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