Photo / Matt Weikel, Sea Pine Studios
Sojourn Ice Co.has various flavors including lemon, cherry, passion fruit, coffee and Maine wild blueberry.
Updated: June 20, 2025
Friday Food Insider: Philly natives bring 'water ice' to Waterville
Photo / Matt Weikel, Sea Pine Studios
Sojourn Ice Co. is located at the newly opened Waterville food truck park at 121 Kennedy Memorial Drive.
Philadelphia natives who moved to Waterville during the pandemic have opened up a food truck serving a Philly specialty, water ice — an idea inspired by a family story.
Bobby Dombroski and Larkin Silverman have opened their first joint business venture, Sojourn Ice Co., serving up small-batch water ice.
After the couple moved to Maine, Dombroski's mother, Madeline, received a terminal cancer diagnosis. During her illness, Silverman said she shared stories about her Italian immigrant parents, as well as stories about Dombroski's great-uncle Tony, who used to sell water ice from a pushcart in Southwest Philadelphia.
"This struck a chord and Bobby began musing about taking up the mantle of family tradition in honor of his mom," said Silverman.
Silverman said they decided on a food truck rather than a brick-and-mortar location to give them the ability to be agile and avoid gambling on an area that relies on foot traffic.
"We can travel to markets and festivals around the state, offer folks the opportunity to rent us out for private and corporate events, and bring our product where we see an audience for it," said Silverman.
"Additionally, since we're introducing water ice to a new market, we anticipate demand fluctuating," she continued. "If no one has a hankering for water ice in the winter, we can shut down and wait for the thaw to start back up again."
About the food truck
Water ice is a variation on other regional specialties. New York has Italian ice, which is more of a semi-frozen treat. Hawaii has shaved ice, which might incorporate fresh fruit like pineapple. Philadelphia has water ice — or as the locals pronounce it, "wooder ice."
Water ice is produced in the same machine as ice cream, but is dairy free. It's made of pureed fruit, filtered water and pure cane sugar.
Because the mechanics of the machine keep the ingredients constantly churning, ice can't crystallize into large chunks. The result is micro ice crystals that bind to the sugar, resulting in a creamy texture, without the need for cream.
Ingredients come from Precipice Coffee, a local solar-powered roastery out of Ellsworth and Wyman's in Milbridge. Fruit purees from Fierce Fruit in Houston.
The current lineup at the food truck includes lemon, cherry, passion fruit, coffee and Maine wild blueberry. They hope to expand their product offerings soon to include accompanying snacks, such as classic Philadelphia soft pretzels, beverages and, eventually, vegan soft serve.
Sojourn Ice Co. is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the newly opened Waterville food truck park at 121 Kennedy Memorial Drive. Follow them on social media to see where they are headed next.
Have you ever tried water ice? The Mainebiz Food Insider wants to hear from you. Contact Alexis Wells at awells@mainebiz.biz.
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