eegee’s Coming to LA

Published on June 7, 2024

You can now try eegee’s, the frozen drink that kept Arizona cool every summer, at Snackville at Pacific Park. 

Now available at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, eegee’s offers a refreshing compliment to the sunny California weather with flavors like lemon, strawberry, mango, and piña colada, along with fun toppings.

What is eegee’s?

Like many restaurant chains today, eegee’s started in 1971 as a vending truck looking to change the food scene in Tucsan, Arizona. Their only product to sell at the time was a frozen lemonade drink called eegee’s. This failed attempt at Italian ice turned into an “icy cold, silky smooth, fresh fruit packed deliciousness” that is perfect for a hot summer day. 

The food truck found itself in many places, especially in front of sporting events, the University of Arizona, and schools! This brought enough criticism to allow eegee’s to grow. While construction workers who loved their drink thought it would be paired nicely with something more to satisfy their appetite, others believed the need to offer more flavors. Children, being as honest as they are, let eegee’s know they lacked something else, flavors. “That’s it?” was always the response when they found it was just a lemon-flavored drink keeping them cool this summer.

Soon enough, eegee’s began crafting a food menu that offered sandwiches and brought out new flavors, orange and strawberry. Strawberry is now their most popular flavor! 

As they were thinking of new ways to introduce flavors, they presented “flavor of the month” to their customers, bringing on 12 new flavors to try for a limited time each year. Their first “flavor of the month”, piña colada, actually replaced orange in their regular lineup of flavors. Even though it’s not a regular anymore, almost every eegee’s flavor needs orange as the base.

This criticism allowed eegee’s to grow quickly as the had their first brick-and-mortar store within its first year of starting as a vending truck. They have since expanded their menu to include subs, grinders, fries, pretzels, and salad in all their stores.

How to spell eegee’s

The correct spelling for eegee’s is all lowercase despite what your English teachers might have told you, not even when eegee’s begins a sentence. 

Its name is derived from the initials of its founders, Ed Irving and Bob Greenberg. Take the “e” from Ed and the “g” from Greenberg to form “eegee’s” (E-G).

Why people in Arizona love eegee’s

With eegee’s being made from sugar, water, and natural fruit juices, it has a strong resemblance to agua frescas. Originating from Mexico, agua frescas are loved by many Latino communities today as a refreshing choice of drink. If you’re unfamiliar with the beverage, it’s also made sugar and water but mixed with fruits, vegetables, seeds, or flowers.The most common flavors you’ve probably heard about are horchata, jamaica, or tamarindo. 

With eegee’s offering new flavors every month, it really captures the essence of agua frescas. making it a delightfully delicious choice. Given that Tucson has a significant Latino population, eegee’s familiarity to agua frescas really attributed to its spread of popularity in Arizona.

Why eegee’s at the pier

eegee’s is the perfect addition to the Santa Monica Pier as it compliments the always sunny California weather with its fruity frozen drinks. Visitors can now enjoy scenic views of the Pacific Ocean, feel the thrill of excitement from games & rides’ and get to treat themselves to some eegee’s. Offering lemon, strawberry, mango, and piña colada, guests with any palate can find the perfect treat at Mr. Nice Fry that’s located at Snackville at Pacific Park. You can even ask to add one (or more!) of our toppings: tajin, chamoy, nerds, and sour gummies.

So next time you find yourself on the Santa Monica Pier… take it easy, have an eegee!

 

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Feature image courtesy of eegees.com