The sweet and cold mixture of Italian ice can be as refreshing as taking a dip in Lake Michigan under the sweltering summer sun. Three years ago, Brian and Jodi Tillman brought their version of this frosty culinary delight to Northwest Indiana when they opened Jodi's Italian Ice Factory in Hammond, located at 7322 Calumet Ave.

The factory in Hammond, on the bustling strip of Calumet Avenue, brings a different profile of Italian ice than most people from Northwest Indiana are used to, Brian Tillman said. Brian Tillman, a Philadelphia native, wanted to bring a delicacy that he saw in his hometown to the suburbs of Chicago, he said.