Carmella’s Authentic Italian Ice, Helena, AL

This patio makes a cool stop on a summer day.

by Lynn Grisard Fullman and Milton Fullman Jr. | August 08, 2010

I feel as though I am in Mayberry as I sit on the wooden deck outside Carmella’s Authentic Italian Ice in Helena.

An Italian flag furls in the breeze as people cluster around scattered tables along the town’s main street in this historic town south of Birmingham.

Customers line up outside glass windows to order scoops of the frozen ice dessert that has no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. (Calories are another matter.)

Flavors are plentiful: mango, strawberry, banana, pineapple, green apple, cherry, blue raspberry, lemon and watermelon. (Cherry and blue raspberry are the most popular.)

In late 2005, Nick Dimario and Sean Sullivan introduced Alabamaians to Italian ice which both had enjoyed while growing up; Nick in Philadelphia and Sean in Florida.

The two men named their business for Nick’s Italian grandmother, Carmella Dimario. Their logo includes a drawing of Sean’s grandmother, Valeda Lemieux.

Also part of the logo is the company’s slogan: We Scoopa 4 U!

The smooth-feeling refreshment also is sold from trucks that show up (by request) for Ice Days at area schools (whom Nick allows to share in the profits) and at area businesses where employers often, during Employee Appreciation Day, treat their employees to scoops of cool refreshment.

March through October, Carmella’s Authentic Italian Ice in Helena opens Monday through Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Made with real fruit puree, the icy treats also are sold from trucks and trailers on Saturdays and Sundays at the Bessemer Flea Market and Saturdays at Pepper Place Market.

In Helena, cups sell for $1.50 and $2.50. So, order a scoop and maybe a salty pretzel–and plant yourself on the deck outside the business.

For information about Carmella’s Authentic Italian Ice, call 205-796-5013.