This lemon treat is a long-running North Myrtle Beach staple. Where to get it
Longtime North Myrtle Beach visitors likely associate a number of sensations with a beach vacation, from the sound of seagulls to the heat of sand baking in the sun.
But for many, the taste of a sweet, lemony Italian ice serves up a heavy dose of nostalgia.
For decades, beachgoers in North Myrtle Beach have cooled off with the cold lemon treats. The snack has gone by many names over the years, from “Soft Frozen Lemonade” to “Lemon Quench,” but the taste has remained mostly the same: tangy and refreshing. Typically sold from carts wheeled down the beach by teenaged vendors, the iconic beach food has a complex history on local shores. However, it’s still available, and you no longer need to wait for a cart to roll around.
Here’s the evolution of the beloved treat, and where you can still find it today.
Lemon Quench in North Myrtle Beach, a history
Throughout the 1980s, Lemon Quench was sold on North Myrtle Beach beaches from carts pushed through the sand by bikini-clad “Quench Wenches.”
Eventually, the original operation selling the frozen food went out of business. For a time, snow cones were sold on the beaches instead, but Vince Smith, a former lifeguard in the area and owner of H & S Beach Service, couldn’t shake the craving for the lemony snack he remembered.
In the late ‘80s, H & S Beach Service took over the beach service operations in North Myrtle Beach, and Smith began selling the Lemon Quench of his lifeguarding days from push carts instead of the snow cones.
“We started making the product ourselves,” Smith said. He said that it is “not exactly the same product,” because he didn’t have access to the previous business’ recipe, but it is still “very close.”
H & S Beach Service became North Strand Beach service as it expanded. The name of the tangy iced snack also changed a few times over the years, later being called “Lemon Twist,” “Freshers” and then “Soft Frozen Lemonade,” but the product consistently remained a beach favorite.
“It was just a great product and everybody loved it,” Smith said.
North Strand Beach Service made the frozen lemonade and sold it on the beaches until about 2009, when Smith opened Carolina Quench.
Before Smith started Carolina Quench, the city of North Myrtle Beach took over the beach services in 2006. Smith said the city briefly sold another similar product on the beaches.
Later, the city started accepting bids for a company to buy a similar product from. For a few years, Carolina Quench sat out of the bidding process, but now Smith and his team sell their product to the beach service, which continues selling it from the classic beachfront carts.
Where to get a taste
Carolina Quench’s product can still be found on Italian ice carts on North Myrtle Beach beaches, as well as Horry County beaches and Surfside Beach beaches. Smith said that no pushcarts have ever been allowed on Myrtle Beach beaches, however.
For those who don’t want to wait in the sun for a cart to pass by, Carolina Quench also has its own locations throughout the Grand Strand. The two locations in North Myrtle Beach are located at 2100 North Ocean Blvd. and 1625 South Ocean Blvd., according to the company’s website.
Carolina Quench is also available in Murrells Inlet, North Carolina and Florida.
Similar iterations of Italian ice are also available at Ricciardi’s Italian Ice located at 4721 Highway 17 Bypass South in Myrtle Beach, and at Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, a national chain with locations throughout the Grand Strand.
