The Memphis Ice Files: The Businesses Behind the Machines

There is a saying that behind every great business is a great story. At Memphis Ice, we’ve had a front row seat to a lot of great stories over the years. 

In nearly five decades of serving the Mid-South, we have worked with restaurants and hotels, hospitals and gas stations, small family-owned shops and large commercial operations. And while our job is to keep the ice machines and refrigeration equipment running, what we have come to understand is that we are really in the business of keeping people’s dreams running.

That is the idea behind The Memphis Ice Files.

Over the next few weeks, we are pulling back the curtain and introducing you to some of the businesses that trust Memphis Ice to keep them cool. These are the people behind the machines. The ones who show up before the sun comes up and lock the door long after everyone else has gone home. The ones who have built something worth keeping cold.

Why We Do What We Do

Memphis Ice was founded in 1977 by Robert Halfacre. What started as a local ice machine company has grown into a Mid-South institution, now in its third generation of family ownership under Clark Lawrence. But the mission has never changed: show up, do great work, and take care of the people who depend on you.

Over the years we have learned that when a business calls us, it is rarely just about the ice machine. It is about the restaurant that cannot serve drinks without it. The hotel that cannot keep guests comfortable without it. The healthcare facility that depends on it around the clock. When your equipment goes down, your business feels it immediately, and that is not something we take lightly.

The Businesses That Built Us

We are proud to serve a 150-mile radius of Memphis, and the variety of businesses we work with is something that never gets old. From the corner bar that has been a neighborhood staple for decades to the brand new restaurant just getting off the ground, every customer we serve has a story worth telling.

Some of our customers have been with us for decades. They called us when they were just starting out and they are still calling us today. That kind of loyalty is not something we take for granted. It is something we work to earn every single time we show up.

What to Expect from This Series

Over the next few weeks we are going to introduce you to some of those customers. We will share their stories, talk about what they do, and give you a behind the scenes look at the businesses that make the Mid-South such a special place to live and work.

We hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as we have enjoyed serving them. Because at the end of the day, Memphis Ice is not just about machines. It is about the people who depend on them and the community we are all proud to be a part of.

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This blog is part of a series, The Memphis Ice Files. To read more about the legacy and goals of this small family-owned business, check out the other blogs in the series linked below:

The Memphis Ice Files: The Restaurants That Keep Memphis Fed

The Memphis Ice Files: Keeping Coffee Cool in Memphis All Summer Long

The Memphis Ice Files: What 47 Years of Serving Memphis Has Taught Us