Even ice companies are feeling the heat nowadays
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With events canceled and bars shut, growth is frozen at Charlotte’s Zippy Ice; ‘It’s a little bit scary’
By Shawn Flynn
The coolest place to work during these hot summer months must be Charlotte-based Zippy Ice. The facility pumps out 150 tons of ice every day. That’s 29 bags of ice per minute. The temperature inside the freezer: a frigid 15 degrees.
But even in those temperatures, the owners are doing everything to try and keep their cool during these coronavirus times.
“Literally everybody canceled everything for events. Overnight, restaurants ceased operations,” said Zippy Ice secretary/treasurer Howard Mackie. He was referring to the dark days of March when all the stay-in-place orders started. “Special events and restaurant (businesses) got completely eviscerated.”
Big plans frozen: Zippy Ice made big plans for 2020, including consolidating its two facilities and moving the headquarters from Rock Hill to Charlotte. The company is currently moving into its new 8,000 s.f. facility on North Graham Street, which cost $2.2M. It’s capable of producing twice the ice.
Howard, with his wife Christine, who owns the company, started Zippy Ice in 2006 with just a few small vending machines around Charlotte. It’s now the main provider of ice to the region.
With year-over-year growth, things were looking good at the beginning of the year, especially with the scheduled Republican National Convention and major concerts in uptown.
“We were very excited about Bank of America (Stadium) having new events this year, and we were thinking of new revenue. We were banking on those being in the budget,” Mackie said.
Zippy Ice provides all the ice for events at the stadium, including for the Panthers. All the ice in the tubs for beer came from Zippy Ice. On game day, the company provides about 50 tons of ice to the stadium and bars and restaurants surrounding it. That’s enough ice to fill nearly three tractor-trailers.
When Covid-19 restrictions started, profits melted faster than an iced tea sitting on the front porch in the late afternoon sun.
“All of the ice to convention center: zero. Bojangles (Coliseum): zero. Restaurants: zero,” Mackie said. “Obviously, we lost the golf tournament. The President’s Cup got pushed. The soccer team was delayed. We just opened a state-of-the-art new plant for all this new business. Now, those mortgage payments are coming due, so it’s a little bit scary. “
Restaurants and special events make up 30% to 35% of its business.
A lift from day drinking: The only area that saw a slight increase since March was at retail stores.
“Convenience store sales are up year over year because of people at home day drinking. I think that was the case in March and April. Now, it’s just hot,” said Mackie.
Mackie says a Paycheck Protection Program loan ensured that the company didn’t have to lay anybody off: “It helped backfill the loss in revenue and that is ultimately how we were able to keep the same level of employment. It did what it was exactly supposed to do.”
That helped pay the bills until this summer’s warmer temperatures heated up its seasonal business.
“We have subsequently hired more people with summer in full swing. Just getting the everyday convenience store delivery requires more staff,” Mackie said.
Still, without the big and special events, like weddings, Zippy Ice hired fewer employees compared with last summer.
Losing 20% of its revenue has the company skating on thin ice.
“There isn’t a way to make it up,” said Mackie.
The fall is typically a big season for Zippy Ice with 10 guaranteed big paydays with Panthers games. Two of those games (pre-season) are already gone, and money from even regular-season games might be jeopardized because restrictions on large gatherings have been extended through mid-September.
“If the Panthers don’t happen, our business will be very much affected,” said Mackie.
When you make a single product, it’s hard to pivot. Zippy Ice does have a lot of assets, including delivery trucks that could be repurposed if this current hell continues to freeze its revenue stream.
“We’re not afraid to do anything if it makes sense. I know Amazon says they’re growing like crazy and can’t keep up,” Mackie said.
He even joked they’ll throw in a couple of extra bags of ice with your Amazon Prime order.
Shawn Flynn has spent more than a quarter century as a journalist, including the past 17 years here in Charlotte. He is currently a freelance writer who teaches and consults with several nonprofits. You can contact him at ShawnKFlynn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @FlynnShawn.
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