Kilwins ice cream and sweet shop opening on Pensacola Beach boardwalk this spring

Jake Newby, Pensacola News Journal Published 4:41 a.m. CT March 24, 2021 | Updated 8:57 a.m. CT March 25, 2021

A line forms at Kilwins on Fort Myers Beach. A Pensacola Beach location is expected to open this spring.

 (Photo: The News-Press file photo)

One of the most recognizable brands in the dessert industry is coming to sweeten up the Pensacola Beach boardwalk this spring. 

The Kilwins franchise will bring its original ice cream flavors and distinct Mackinaw Island-style fudge to Pensacola Beach when it opens a store at 400 Quietwater Beach Road, Suite 2, in late April or early May. 

Franchisees Trey and Danielle Lemon are embarking on their second Kilwins venture, having operated the Orange Beach, Alabama, location for close to three years. 

Their vision as business owners might not totally come to fruition until the Pensacola Bay Bridge reopens and the greater Pensacola population once again has quick and easy access to the beach, but Danielle Lemon said she’s excited for the Pensacola area to find out what the Michigan-based Kilwins is all about. 

Kilwins, a Michigan-based ice cream, fudge and sweet shop that’s been in business since 1947, will open a Pensacola Beach location on the boardwalk this spring. The franchisees are targeting a late April or early May grand opening.

 (Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Lemon)

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“We feel really good about it, we were over there last July when we first looked at the location and it was just insane, so many people at the beach, at the restaurants. Everywhere,” Lemon said during a Tuesday phone interview.

“We’re thinking a daytime place where people can come off the beach, grab an ice cream, a water and some treats, but then also a nighttime destination. When you’re done with dinner and the whole family craves ice cream or something sweet. That’s kind of what’s cool about us. We’re not just an ice cream shop, we have so many things.”

The Pensacola Bay Bridge has been closed for repairs since being badly damaged by unmoored Skanska USA barges on Sept. 16, 2020, during Hurricane Sally. A late May reopening date is the tentative target for the bridge.

Kilwins’ track record is backed by more than 70 years of history, and the company boasts well over 100 locations nationwide. Its ice cream and fudge recipes, as well as its visual, in-store preparation process, make the sweet shop stand out. 

“Our fudge is cooked in a copper kettle, we pour it onto a marble table and then paddle and loaf it right there,” Lemon explained. “It’s not pan fudge, it’s not made in an oven, it’s not baked. We are doing it all right there in front of our kitchen so it’s really cool, people can watch it.”

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Kilwins, a Michigan-based ice cream, fudge and sweet shop that’s been in business since 1947, will open a Pensacola Beach location on the boardwalk this spring. The franchisees are targeting a late April or early May grand opening.

 (Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Lemon)

Caramel, which is the base for a boatload of Kilwins products, is made using the same copper kettle system. The time-tested menu is pieced together by a variety of barks, chocolates, corns, brittles, truffles and other goodies. And then there’s the ice cream.

“We’ll have 24 flavors there in Pensacola Beach. That’s less than in Orange Beach but we’re working with a really tiny space over here,” Lemon said. “It’s super high in milk fat so it’s super premium. It’s delicious.”

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Kilwins’ ice cream isn’t at your local Publix and it can’t be found in any mall. Visiting Kilwins is the only way to get your hands on its original recipe ice cream.

“We have a toasted coconut, which is a definite top seller. Cake batter, which is really unique,” Lemon said, while rattling off some of Orange Beach’s top-selling flavors. “Another would be the New Orleans praline pecan, that’s another unique flavor. We have sea salt caramel, too, they come in a chocolate or vanilla. Those are really popular.”

See more openings in Pensacola

Once Kilwins opens on the boardwalk this spring, its hours of operation could initially mirror those of the store in Orange Beach, which is 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The franchisees said they’ll play it by ear, though. 

Trey and Danielle Lemon signed their lease agreement with property owner Robert Rinke in the summer of 2020. To get a gauge of everything the sweet shop has to offer, check out the product section of the company’s website at kilwins.com. 

Jake Newby can be reached at jnewby@pnj.com or 850-435-8538.

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