Jeremiah's Italian Ice to open new locations in Baton Rouge, Ascension Parish
Jeremiah's Italian Ice is aiming to open another shop in Baton Rouge and their first in Ascension Parish. They opened their first location in September 2022 at 3260 Highland Road.
The second location in Baton Rouge will be at 4343 S Sherwood Forest Blvd Ste A.
The store in Ascension Parish will be located at 117 N Airline Highway in Gonzales.
According to Franchise Operating Partner, Cody Loveland, the Gonzales location is tracking to open at or around the same time as the second location in Baton Rouge.
Loveland said the Gonzales location is on track to open in late May or early June.
As for the location on Sherwood Forest Boulevard, he said they will hold a soft opening and then a grand opening around a month after that.
The franchise operating partner gave many reasons why they are opening this second location including the presence of a drive-thru, many churches and schools in the area and a low build out cost.
Whichever store that customers go to, they can expect to see their authentic Italian Ice, soft ice cream, Jelati and Jelati cakes. Loveland said Jelati is a 'perfect layering of any of our Italian Ice flavors and our rich soft ice cream.'
Michelin Guide expands to Southern US, includes Louisiana
Jeremiah's Italian Ice also has locations in Covington and Mandeville.
Loveland said Jeremiah's Italian Ice is aiming to open a shop in Youngsville this summer too. If all goes well, there will be six stores in Louisiana before summer ends.
The first Jeremiah's Italian Ice opened in Winter Park, Fla. in 1996.
LSU spring practice in Tiger Stadium: Meet Coach Kelly, get autographs
Senate confirms Oz as head of CMS along party lines
MAP: What are President Trump's new tariffs in each country?
MASTERS '25: 10 players likely to contend for a green jacket
Deputies still investigating disappearance of Wesley Dale Morgan; $10K reward available
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
a day ago
- CNN
A British restaurant is launching the UK's first water menu
Food & drink UK Water availabilityFacebookTweetLink Follow The French are known for their love of fine wines. La Popote, a French-style restaurant in northern England, is no exception. The Michelin Guide-listed eatery in the county of Cheshire offers diners the choice of almost 140 varieties of wine. But now the business is taking a bold step to cater for discerning non-drinkers by offering an entire menu of bottled water. Diners will have the choice of three different bottles of still water and four sparkling beginning Friday, as well as complimentary tap water. La Popote is tapping into a global trend away from alcohol. For example, based on a Gallup poll last year, 58% of adult Americans drink alcohol, down from 67% in 2022. A growing number of Americans are giving up alcohol, whether permanently or temporarily, while many restaurants are offering a bigger range of mocktails, and sober bars and non-alcoholic bottle shops are becoming increasingly popular. Chef Joseph Rawlins, who founded and runs La Popote with his French partner Gaëlle Radigon, said they had initially been approached about the idea by Doran Binder, who was already supplying the restaurant with their 'house' water under his Crag Spring Water brand. A water sommelier, certified by the Fine Water Academy, Binder first suggested the idea of a water menu to the couple three years ago. 'I laughed it off,' Rawlins told CNN. 'I initially thought it was a ridiculous idea.' But when Binder invited the couple to a tasting at the 'water bar' he owns in the Peak District, a national park in north-central England, they were sold. 'It was mind-blowing,' Rawlins said of the experience, adding that he now believes that 'water isn't just water.' At that first tasting, they tried five or six different varieties. 'Then we did a second tasting with exactly the same waters but we paired them with certain foods – like Manchego cheese, Comté cheese, chocolate, Parma ham, olives. Like with a wine, the taste just changed.' The restaurant is the first in Britain to offer a water menu, according to Binder, and one of only a handful in the world. Binder curated La Popote's water menu, which features a selection from across Europe, including Britain, France, Spain and Portugal. Prices range from £5 ($6.80) for a large bottle of his Crag brand to £19 ($26) for The Palace of Vidago, a Portuguese sparkling water. 'The measurement of minerals in water is what drives taste and flavor,' Binder told CNN. That measurement is called Total Dissolved Solids, or TDS, he said. 'Distilled water is zero TDS. It's brilliant for cleaning windows, brilliant for electrical appliances, brilliant for your car battery – rubbish for the human being,' he said, noting that sea water is at the other end of the spectrum with 30,000-40,000 TDS. The restaurant's range goes from 14 TDS in the Lauretana sparkling mineral water from Italy to 3,300 for the Vichy Celastins from France. The French water initially tastes rather salty, Rawlins said. 'Then you put it with something that's quite salty like a Parma ham and they both naturally balance each other out, so the water is not salty anymore and it's a longer-lasting flavor of the ham in your mouth.' How the water is served is also important, Rawlins said. 'We recommend it at room temperature with ice and a slice of lemon. Water is like wine – if it's too cold, it kills all the flavor.' The water menu is giving diners 'another dimension,' he added, noting that 'a lot of people are drinking less now.' Binder, who has never drunk alcohol, agrees. 'There are more and more people who don't drink alcohol, like me. I'm a massive foodie and when I go to a restaurant they can't wait to throw a wine menu in front of my nose, which will never be of interest to me. 'But put a water menu in front of me and now you've opened up a whole new revenue stream. It's appealing to restaurants and it's appealing to more and more health-conscious people and really it's all about the epicurean experience.' Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.
CNN
05-08-2025
- CNN
He earned a Michelin star, but all he really wants to do is sell ice cream
Food & drink AsiaFacebookTweetLink Follow There are more than 3,000 restaurants in the world with at least one Michelin star. Only one of them is dedicated solely to ice cream, and you'll have to travel to Taiwan to experience it. Located in an alley in the city of Taichung, next to the tree-lined Calligraphy Greenway boulevard, Minimal's spartan gray and dark charcoal façade is a stark contrast to the sweet, colorful treats served inside. Founded by chef Arvin Wan in 2021, it's included in the Michelin Guide's 2024 Taiwan edition, which was unveiled last August. But just a few months after receiving that star, Wan took a bold step that highlights the pressures many chefs face — he did away with Minimal's tasting menu, which was served in a separate dining space, opting to sell takeaway scoops only. 'I had been contemplating this decision before the [2024 Michelin] ceremony,' Wan tells CNN Travel. 'I've always wanted to sell ice cream and only ice cream. The tasting menu was a temporary journey for me to explore the flavors and possibilities of iced desserts. I learned a lot in the process, which will benefit my ice cream-making. But sustaining it would demand more of my time and energy on plating and service — time and resources I could have spent on ice cream. I chose the latter.' The 20-seat dining section, on Minimal's second floor, offered a creative seven-course menu that focused on the various temperatures of its dishes, including a -5° Celsius (23° Fahrenheit) shaved ice dessert and a bowl of very chilly -196° C (-321° F) ice crystals. The menu, piloted in 2023, clearly impressed Michelin Guide inspectors. 'Focusing on ice and ice cream, the restaurant skillfully layers flavors and textures through temperature variations and creative combinations, using unique local ingredients from Taiwan,' says the Michelin Guide's write-up on Minimal. 'The meticulous flavors, delicacy and mature, skillful techniques all impressed us and reached a higher level, warranting a Michelin star.' Whether they'll still feel that way now that he's gotten rid of his dining space is out of his hands, Wan says, telling CNN Travel that all the added attention made it challenging to devote time to his true passion — the ice cream. He won't have to wait long to find out — the 2025 edition of the Taiwan Michelin Guide will be unveiled on August 19. Wan has been fascinated with the cold treat since childhood. Observing how little ice cream shops have evolved compared to their food and beverage counterparts, such as restaurants and bars, he was determined to build something different. Since becoming the world's first Michelin-starred ice cream shop in 2024, Minimal has become a culinary attraction, luring ice cream lovers from near and far. Hopeful patrons line up patiently every Friday through Monday, often waiting over an hour until the last scoop is sold out around 4 p.m. 'After gaining a star, the biggest change for us has been the increased business and attention,' he says, his tone a mix of pride and concern. 'But other than that, I haven't changed much. I just want an ice cream store. No one should have to wait an hour for ice cream, or any food, for that matter.' When asked if opening another shop could ease wait times, Wan says he doesn't plan to leverage his success to expand his business — for now at least. 'No one should have to wait an hour for ice cream, or any food, for that matter.' Arvin Wan, Minimal His reluctance to scale up makes sense, considering the complexity of his offerings — these are not your run-of-the-mill flavors. Take one of his gelatos, featuring olive oil, oolong tea and magnolia leaf. To extract the most from each ingredient, he slowly condenses steeped tea to maximize its fragrance. Milk is blended in afterward, in powder form, to avoid diluting the flavor. To compensate for the decreased aroma from the tea leaves during the brewing process, magnolia leaves and olive oil are added to enhance the flavor, giving it a dose of freshness. 'An ice cream only consists of four elements — fats, proteins, sugar and liquid. What I want to do is to rethink each of these elements and play them to the extreme for that ideal flavor, without adding anything extra,' explains Wan. Every batch of ice cream, even those with tested and confirmed recipes, requires a lot of tasting and adjusting. The complexity of each batch makes it difficult for Wan and his small team to produce large quantities. 'Instead of risking a dip in quality or sacrificing work-life balance, I want to focus on what I can handle for now,' he says. CNN Travel has reached out to Michelin for comment on its judging process. According to the official website, a Michelin star is awarded based on five criteria: the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavors, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine, and consistency across the menu and over time. It stresses that a Michelin star is awarded only for the food on the plate — not the decoration, style, formality or service of a restaurant. Restaurants don't need to offer a tasting menu to receive a star. However, Minimal's no-seating policy could seal Wan's fate. 'I guess about 70% of our star was awarded because of our tasting menu,' says Wan. 'But they did sing praises to our ice cream as well. If we don't get a star because of (our latest decision), then it's meant to be. If we still get a star as an ice cream store, then it'll mean much more to me.' Wan certainly isn't the first chef to make an unconventional decision after receiving a star from the industry's most sought-after gourmet bible. Acclaimed TV show 'The Bear' offers a fictional but somewhat realistic account of just how hard chefs need to work to get that star. Which makes it all the more surprising when one of them suddenly decides they're no longer willing to play the game. 'The culinary industry's obsession extends beyond Michelin stars to other accolades like the 'World's 50 Best',' says Agnes Chee, a Hong Kong-based international food critic. 'While it's understandable for chefs and restaurants to pursue recognition — both for personal achievement and business success — the problem arises when some chefs lack self-awareness. 'They become completely driven by these rankings, prioritizing constant media and social media exposure over actual cooking and culinary development… This represents the negative impact of such awards on the industry, as human nature tends to lose itself in the glare of accolades.' While a star from the Michelin Guide serves as an achievement and often brings lucrative business opportunities, some restaurateurs have spoken out about the stresses of keeping it. Chef Michel Roux Jr. surprised everyone by closing his two-star Michelin restaurant, Le Gavroche, in London in 2024 to 'make time for a better work/life balance.' 'I find it even more frightening to lose myself than to lose a star.' Arvin Wan, Minimal Meanwhile, the owners of the now-closed Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant Deanes EIPIC in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said it was not financially sustainable for them to keep going. Others have even taken Michelin to court. After suing the prestigious guide over an unfavorable review of his soufflé, chef Marc Veyrat earlier this year decided to ban Michelin inspectors from visiting his new venture Le Restaurant. In Wan's case, he says he still holds immense respect for the guide but believes it shouldn't dictate his happiness. His goal has always been simple — make delicious ice cream. 'In this age of overwhelming information from anyone, I think awards like the Michelin Guide serve as an objective and authoritative voice to clear the fog,' he says. 'But at the same time, it might be tempting for chefs to guess what the guide wants or to follow a path they think might earn them a star. You may lose your own way as a result. I find it even more frightening to lose myself than to lose a star.' These days, Wan is content, telling CNN Travel he sells about 300 cups of ice cream per day. 'We can't do more than what we're selling really,' he says while scraping creamy gelato from a tub, gently nudging and spreading it to the side a few times before scooping out a smooth and cold serving into a cup. For this ice cream perfectionist, each scoop needs to be executed with just the right technique and a dose of patience, every cup leaving his hands with a uniform ridge. This ensures the ice cream's texture is extra smooth and melts more slowly. 'Fragrances and flavors are released more as temperature rises,' says Wan. 'I want my ice cream to melt two seconds after you put it in your mouth, rather than one second. It just tastes better.' Food critic Chee agrees with Wan's choice to refocus on his true passion — the ice cream. 'While Minimal's decision might appear 'unwise' at first glance, it actually reflects a very grounded mindset,' she says. 'The owner understands that regardless of any star ratings, their true professionalism lies in making excellent ice cream. Customer satisfaction ultimately matters more than award recognition.' And when it comes down to it, she says Minimal really is special. 'Having their ice cream is akin to having a whole dessert course — so flavorful and delicate.'
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
Sen. Bill Cassidy officially announces reelection campaign
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Sen. Bill Cassidy officially launched his reelection campaign at Drago's Seafood Restaurant in Metairie Friday. Cassidy was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and won reelection in 2020. Challengers he faces in the 2026 election cycle are Republicans, Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming and Louisiana State Sen. Blake Miguez. Louisiana governor pushes Trump to weigh primary challenger to GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, AP sources say 'Louisiana and our country face serious challenges,' Cassidy said. 'I'm running for re-election to work with the people of Louisiana and my fellow Americans to not just face these challenges, but to make our state and our country even greater.' According to Cassidy's office, $2.1 million was raised in the last quarter, and he enters the new quarter with $9 million cash on hand. His team said Cassidy maintains a 'productive working relationship' with President Trump. The president recently praised the incumbent U.S. Senate candidate at a Make America Healthy Again-related health technology event and an economy event. Trump signed Cassidy's HALT Fentanyl Act in July, which cracks down on the opioid epidemic by permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I controlled substances. Latest News Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it is beginning to shut down Travel company responds to White House's use of popular meme: 'Very disappointed' Ford recalls 312,000 vehicles over brake failure risk Blue states challenge Trump's restrictions on gender-affirming care Epstein associate Maxwell quietly moved from Florida to Texas prison Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
