Italiano’s Water Ice Is Closed, Long Live Italiano’s


If you’ve been in South Philly any summer of the past 37 years, you’ve probably had or seen a little bit of Italiano’s water ice over on South 12th Street. Sold out of the first-floor window of the Italiano family’s home, their water ice has long been a summer classic for area residents, and is widely considered some of the best in the city. This year, however, the shop never opened, with owner Nancy Italiano saying she wanted to delay the shop’s opening to pay respects to her deceased brother, Frankie Italiano, who passed away in February. She isn’t sure if they’ll be back next summer, either, but here’s the silver lining: we might see the ice back again sometime. “Don’t count us out,” she said in a recent interview. We wouldn’t dare, Nancy. [Philly.com]