The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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  • T.J. ROYAL

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June 22, 2009

Just in time for summer

T. J. ROYAL

Since it opened Sunday, the owner of a stand-alone ice and water vending machine feels his product is going to be "great for the economy" in Tarboro.

Mark Cunningham of Wilson checked on his Twice The Ice icehouse station in Edgecombe Square parking lot on Western Boulevard in Tarboro on Friday, before it officially opened for business on Sunday.

Cunningham, 47, said the icehouse will be open "24 hours a day, seven days a week," with customers getting ice or water for a "fraction" of the cost from most stores.

A 16-pound bag of ice, or 20 pounds in a cooler or container, is $1.50, while a gallon of water costs a quarter, five gallons for one dollar. The bags of ice and the twist ties are provided at the icehouse station.

"This is great for the economy. The value (of Twice the Ice's ice and water), you just can't touch it" compared to buying from a gas station or a chain store, Cunningham said, where 10-pound bags of ice sell for more than $1.50.

"People can save 80 cents" on a gallon of water at the icehouse, he added.

Cunningham said that he and his brother, Gray Cunningham of Tarboro, placed their first icehouse in Wilson over the Fourth of July holiday last year.

"People brag about the product" when they buy their ice from the station in Wilson, Cunningham said. Instead of being a hard chunk of ice, the conveyor system inside the icehouse produces a softer ice, even softer than what's found in a flavored ice treat.

"We're pleased with its performance" in Wilson, Cunningham said. After setting up the icehouse in Tarboro, he added that his brother and he expect to put up other icehouses in Rocky Mount and Nashville "eventually."

The Cunninghams' distributor, Steven Jackson of Raleigh, said the icehouse machines, which cost around $100,000 each, can produce up to 9,000 pounds of ice per day. The vending machines take $1, $5 and $10 bills, while only quarters, dimes and nickels can be used to gather water.

When asked if he thought of his icehouse as a new business in Tarboro, Cunningham said he feels like it is.

"Others can open up a new business for less" than his brother and he invested in their two icehouses so far, he added.

Cunningham, who along with his brother have primarily operated car wash stations, said he spotted his first Twice The Ice icehouse at Carolina Beach around five years ago, and became "intrigued" by the idea. He met Jackson around two years ago through a mutual acquaintance in the car-wash business.

Around 100 Twice The Ice icehouses are operating in North Carolina right now, Jackson said. He added that the business was started this decade by a Florida investor, who bought the rights to the icehouse concept from a group of farmers.

More than 1,500 Twice The Ice are open in North America and Brazil, according to the company's Web site.

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