Del's is a brand of frozen lemonade typically found in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

and southeastern

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during the summer months. Del's lemonade is available in 20 states. Frozen lemonade is a kind of

slush Slush, also called slush ice, is a slurry mixture of small ice crystals (e.g., snow) and liquid water. In the natural environment, slush forms when ice or snow melts or during mixed precipitation. This often mixes with dirt and other polluta ...

. It is made from water, concentrate, and real lemons in an ice cream machine. In Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts "Del's" is synonymous with frozen lemonade.

History

Del's was founded by Angelo DeLucia, who originally received the recipe for lemonade from his father, Franco DeLucia, who brought the recipe to the United States from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Angelo then developed a machine to dispense their product. The first Del's stand was a small, pushable cart in

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island ...

, in 1948. Soon afterwards, Angelo started using "Del's Trucks" to serve the beverage anywhere in the state. The company still uses the trucks today in addition to its storefront locations. In 1993, Rhode Island legislature made an attempt to select an official state beverage. Del's lemonade and

coffee milk Coffee milk is a drink made by mixing coffee syrup or coffee extract and milk together in a manner similar to chocolate milk. It is the official state drink of the US state of Rhode Island. Coffee syrup Coffee syrup is a sweetened coffee concent ...

were chosen as "finalists"; however, coffee milk was eventually chosen as the official state beverage. The 2011 television movie ''

Lemonade Mouth ''Lemonade Mouth'' is a young adult novel by Mark Peter Hughes, published in 2007 by Delacorte Press. It follows five teenagers who meet in detention and ultimately form a band to overcome the struggles of high school, forming deep bonds with ea ...

'', a

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

adapted from the book of the same name by Massachusetts author Mark Peter Hughes, prominently features "Mel's Frozen Lemonade", which the author has indicated is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of Del's. Angelo DeLucia died of prostate cancer on September 6, 2013.

Products

There are seven main flavors of the popular drink: lemon, watermelon, peach-mango, blueberry, cherry, grapefruit, and blood orange. There are occasionally extra seasonal flavors, like tangerine. Coffee was once a flavor but has not appeared on the menu for many years. Del's also sells other various products such as

pretzel sticks A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical f ...

, candy, and popcorn. In partnership with Del's, the

Narragansett Brewing Company The Narragansett Brewing Company ( ) is an American brewery founded in Cranston, Rhode Island in 1890. Founders included John H. Fehlberg, Augustus F. Borchandt, Herman G. Possner, George M. Gerhard, Constand A. Moeller, and Jacob Wirth. Narrag ...

produces a

shandy Shandy is beer or cider mixed with a lemon or a lemon-lime flavored beverage. The citrus beverage, often called lemonade, may or may not be carbonated. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste but are usually half lemonade ...

called Del's Shandy.

Distribution

Del's operates franchises selling their prepared product, with 20 locations in Rhode Island, the most of any state, as well as locations throughout the US, and even internationally. Trucks selling the product are often seen at popular beach locations in summer months. The Del's "take-home" mix and non-frozen variety of lemonade can be found in grocery stores throughout the world.

References

External links

Del's website
{{coord, 41.735057, -71.477442, display=title Frozen drinks Brand name frozen desserts Rhode Island cuisine Lemonade Restaurants in Rhode Island 1948 establishments in Rhode Island

History

Products

Distribution

See also

References

External links