But, InthekNOwlians, we’ve found a parade that won’t be hampered by the weather, a parade that’ll always be there for you when you need it. It’s time for you stop by Lemonade Parade on Carrollton, a new
smoothie, snowball, and ice cream shop in the heart of the Mid City.Many of you may remember Lemonade Parade as the location of Manuel’s Tamales, a New Orleans staple before Katrina. When Manuel’s didn’t return after the storm, husband and wife Mike and Lori Bettencourtt bought the property intending to initially turn it into a po boy shop called The Porch (named after their fabulous porch upstairs). However, that idea soon changed to the colder aspects of food.
With the change from po boys to smoothies and the like, Mike and Lori knew a change had to be made to the name. Lori explained, “Since we moved away from the original idea of selling po boys to smoothies instead, The Porch just didn’t sound fun enough. So, we were sitting around the kitchen thinking about what to call it and one of our sons said, ‘You’ve got to call it the ‘Lemonade Parade.’ He got the name from a cartoon and we thought it was really catchy.”
She added, “We’re from New Orleans, but we were away for 23 years because Mike was in the Navy. And during that time, we missed the city a lot. We missed Mardi Gras and the parades, so when we came up with Lemonade Parade, we knew that it fit perfectly.”
Lemonade Parade opened in July 2010 and has been “parading” their smoothies, snowballs, ice cream, and lemonade ever since. And lemme tell ya, the smoothies are awesome (as is everything else)! “Each of the fruit smoothies contain between 2 and 4 servings of fruit in a 20 oz. cup,” said Lori. “They’re all natural and have whole fruit in a puree. We don’t use any artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, dairy, yogurt or powders. So they are delicious and healthy for you.”
“We also have great Frappuccinos made with Ghirardelli chocolate,” she added. “They’re also all natural with no preservatives or artificial cocoa flavoring. It’s all good stuff and we’re really proud of them.”
Now while you can order a simple strawberry smoothie or chocolate Frappucino, you can also get the Iko, Iko smoothie (pineapple, banana, and coconut), or the Jock-a-mo Frappuccino (coffee, cream, chocolate, and caramel), or the Do Watcha Wanna sundae (vanilla ice cream and strawberry, chocolate, caramel, or pineapple topping). Lori said, “When it was time to create the menu, we wanted it to represent the city, so we molded the names of our original items around the culture of the city.”
Not only is Lemonade Parade cooling us down, they are certainly improving the overall environment and attitude of the city and Mid City, in particular. Lori explained, “We wanted to do something for the neighborhood, for the kids, for the people walking home, and for the people
running around doing errands. We wanted to offer them something quick, fast, and delicious. Our smoothies are really healthy and the snowballs are fun, so we have a really great mix of healthy and fun foods.”Aside from all of the deliciousness of smoothies and snowballs, Lemonade Parade also hosts an art gallery next door called The Peanut Gallery for local artists to showcase their work on the weekends free of charge. Artists are welcome to market and sell their pieces and customers can support not one, but two businesses at one time. After getting your smoothie, just step a couple feet to the left and get you some art, too!
Lori said, “Mike and I grew up in Mid-city. It’s our neighborhood and we want to add to it and be a big part of it. I think every neighborhood should have a Lemonade Parade!”
So, the next time you’re looking for something cool, healthy, and fun, check out Lemonade Parade, a great addition to the Mid City family!
For more information, please visit Lemonade Parade’s Facebook page.
Lemonade Parade
4709 S. Carrollton Ave.
Open 7 days a week from 12:00pm - 9:00pm
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