A new ice cream shop is in the works in Brooksville, near the intersection of South Broad Street (AKA US Highway 41) and Buena Vista Avenue. Called Lorelei Infusions, it’s preparing to serve up ice cream that is not only delicious, it’s a piece of American history.
What Now spoke about Lorelei Infusions with co-owner Wendy McGinnis this week. The story of the ice cream shop began when McGinnis, a retired Deputy Sheriff, moved back to the county where she’d once worked.
“I didn’t intend to move back,” McGinnis said. “But I think it’s just a God thing. Because we ended up with the most amazing neighbors.”
Among those neighbors were Paula, now McGinnis’s partner in Lorelei Infusions, and her husband, Steve Thompson. Thompson is the former president of Emory Thompson Machine & Supply Co., and the grandson of founder Emory Thompson himself.
“In 1905, Emory Thompson created the first electric, plug-in ice cream machine,” McGinnis told What Now. “That machine ended up being the number one ice cream manufacturing machine in the U.S. And that was what Steve knew his whole life. Every quarter, they would do a demonstration of the machine, and people would come from all over the world to watch. We’d been here about a year when Paula said, ‘Do you want to come see what we do?’ And I thought, well, being neighborly can’t hurt.”
Visiting the demonstration changed everything. McGinnis couldn’t believe the quantity of ice cream the Emory Thompson machine could produce in only nine minutes, and her head began to spin with the possibilities. You could add any flavor, so why not rum ice cream? Why not red wine sorbet?
“I said, ‘Steve, I cannot stop thinking about this. The possibilities.’ And he said, ‘Tell you what. I’m going to make it worse: I’m bringing you a machine.”
And so the idea for Lorelei Infusions was born.
The brand’s website already lists some of the flavors the Lorelei Infusions team has created. Flavors for the whole family include Captain’s Crunch (Vanilla bean ice cream swirled with golden caramel and butterscotch toffee bits) and Seaside Strawberry Swell (Fresh strawberry ice cream with berry pieces and a ripple of strawberry jam). Then there are flavors from the Adult Menu, like the adventurous Praline Port (A luxurious bold and nutty destination on the flavor map. A tempest of flavor with bourbon, caramel, and praline goodness) and Bourbon & Bacon (A rich, creamy base kissed with bourbon flavor, swirled with ribbons of caramel, pralines and studded with candied bacon).
These will all be served in a streamlined space with a wall detailing the history of Emory Thompson, the manufacturer’s ice cream machine, and Lorelei, the mermaid for whom ice cream shop is named. And guests will find that a few of the pictures on this wall can be moved, and that behind them are secret windows revealing the space where Lorelei Infusions’ ice cream is made. And there you’ll find a real piece of American ice cream history: the ice cream machine. It’s one of several custom-made for the U.S. military during the Second World War, consisting of a 24-ice cream machine and a batch freezer.
“This will be great for events,” McGinnis said. “Say you want to have a get-together—say a bride wants a custom ice cream flavor; she wants to put Blanton’s bourbon in it. We can do that. It’s something no one else has.”
This exciting new ice cream concept is opening at 813 S Broad St in Brooksville this September, so keep an eye out!
You can keep up with all things Lorelei Infusions by following the brand on Facebook.
