Detroit Water Ice Factory

I'm from California & this was my 1st time exploring Detroit. I had no clue what this "water ice" stuff was but i knew I had to try it. WOW!!! It did not disappoint. At first I thought oh, it's probably all sorbet. No not really. It's so much more. I tried the Motown mash, which is a mix of creamy, velvety textured goodness + choco chip cookies + kahlua (sans alcohol). It's like milk & cookies wrapped in a whipped, buttery smooth, fluffy blanket. It's so sweet but oh sooo good. Never had anything quite like it before. I went yesterday & im definitely going back today to try a different flavor! I'm HOOKED! Still don't know what "water ice" is but I just know I'm HERE for it!And the cherry on top is the proceeds go towards helping others. That's amazing. This Cali girl is a huge fan!EDIT- I would not get the Motown Mint & the Chips flavor. It's not creamy at all. It's mint flavored ice...a huge miss for me!

Business hours are wrong. My coworker and I walked here from Greek town to find that they were closed. It was only 9pm but the hours on Yelp+Google say 10pm. Not even a sign on the door stating an early closure.

Of course I had to stop in here again after watching the F1 race and it was the perfect cool down after a hot day in the city! I got the Yooper Orange Cream with vanilla soft serve ice cream on top for the perfect creamsicle! My boyfriend got the Riverfront Root Beer with vanilla soft serve for an amazing root beer float. This place never disappoints!

One of my favorite summer time treats! I usually stop here with family after going to the river walk. I always get the yooper orange cream with soft serve.

This place is pretty cool. I had never had "water ice" before but it's similar to a slushee, just thicker in comparison. They have tons of different flavors here to try. The prices are moderate and the staff were great. They allowed us to sample any flavors we wanted to try. I think this place is definitely a unique spot and worth a try on a hot summer day.

Detroit Water Ice and Brown Bag Popcorn (both in the same space and both founded by Mitch Albom where the proceeds go towards awesome, local causes and organizations) are located right in downtown Detroit on Woodward Ave, just a block over from Campus Martius. It's a great little local spot that is perfect for all seasons - get water ice during the warmer weather months and popcorn during the colder weather months, or get both during whatever month you want because it's just so delicious!Their water ice (derivative from Italian ice) is incredible and if you're not a huge ice cream/sweets fan like me, you'll probably really love water ice! It's like a velvety smooth snow cone/shaved ice kind of dessert that typically defaults more towards fruity flavors and all their flavors are good and don't taste super artificial or anything, which is much appreciated! Detroit Water Ice also has a Motown Mash, which is this super light almost whipped cream with chocolate chips and cookie bits in it that makes it so refreshing as well, and I'm a huge fan of it!Their popcorn is that big puffed round sphere kind of popcorn, which I prefer over those movie theater ones! They have a ton of good seasoned types of the popcorn, my favorite being the Cheese Loraine and Spicy Cheese. But they also have a rotating selection of "popcorn of the day" varieties. When I went most recently, it was a salt and vinegar one and it was DELECTABLE! I got a mix of all three of these flavors and have been munching on it!Customer service was also super wonderful and friendly, offered free samples to help us make our decisions on what water ice and popcorn flavors to go with and explained their reward system super well as well! Appreciate everything Detroit Water Ice Factory is and stands for!

This place is great for a quick snack, especially on a hot summer day! They switch out their ice flavors regularly, so there will always be something new to try. They also have flavored popcorn and other snacks. The servers at the counter were kind and patient while my kid decided what flavor she wanted. They all sounded tasty! We tried several flavors. The tiger's blood had a bit of a strong coconut flavor, but my favorite was the sour apple! The profits from the facility go to "SAY Detroit" charity, so you can enjoy something delicious and feel good about it! This is located in downtown Detroit, so you can grab an ice on a nice day and walk around town with some friends. Check it out!

Great ambience and very flavorful selections! Make any excuse to stop in! Frozen concoctions to satisfy everyone. Great spot to peoplewatch while you consume one of their delicious offerings. Walkable from stadium or restaurants

Located just outside Campus Martius in a side retail unit of the building Hard Rock used to be in. Very limited street pay parking nearby. Nearby pay garages and lots. There is a small seating area inside and outside, the walls are covered with well wishes by a whole lot of local celebs. The owner is a local celeb and the store is for charity. They sell water ice, like Italian ice, and flavored fancy popcorn (and pretzels and softserve.).Staff was great. Products are great. And it is for charity.

This establishment was such an unexpected treat. I was very pleased to see there was a variety of choices and they also had plenty of vegan options to choose from. I ordered the Tiger's Blood which was a watermelon flavored drink which looked bright red and I thought it would be super sweet, but surprisingly it was pleasantly light, refreshing and surprisingly flavorful. It was a delightful treat. The texture was not like a typical snow cone, it was much more better than that. It retained its shape and did not melt quick.I also ordered some gourmet popcorn which was better than I thought they would be, very tasty and enjoyed them immensely.The service was awesome and the people were friendly and they are a non profit that uses proceeds to help the community in need.I can't wait to return here and try what more they have to offer and the cost per cup is very reasonable as low as $4.50 a cup and is worth it for all that goodness.