Roslindale Neighbors: Rozzie water store offers fresh alternative

Since the 1980s, The Ice Box, located on the border of Jamaica Plain at 3892 Washington St. in Roslindale, has been bringing spring water to locals.

At first, the water came from a spring in Vermont until the business switched to Triple Springs in Connecticut, according to Luis Morales, a Roslindale resident and 12-year employee of the store.

“We get city people looking for good-tasting water,” said Morales.

He added, “They don’t want to drink the tap water at home.”

Morales said that most customers are from the Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park and West Roxbury areas. He said the age of his customers range “all over the place, from the young to the old.”

Morales said the busiest time at the store tends to be in the morning. When the Gazette went during a recent afternoon visit to elicit information about The Ice Box, no customers were around. Morales said that the customers usually “get enough water for a couple of days.”

The store has about 60 customers a day around this time of the year and increases to about 400 customers during the summer, especially on hot days, according to Morales.

Customers who bring their own containers to fill can get a gallon of water for a quarter, while a multi-gallon option is $1.25, according to Morales. The customers take their container up to a spigot, enter the money and reap a watery reward.

“It’s a great deal compared to the supermarkets,” he said.

The Ice Box, which is housed inside a tan-colored, warehouse-looking building, also fittingly offers ice to customers.

(Gazette Photo by Peter Shanley) The Ice Box in Roslindale.

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