Made in Arizona: Valley restaurateurs put million-dollar twist on official state drink

AZ Lemonade Stand is an up-and-coming beverage brand that is taking the Valley by storm.

The company did $1.35 million in sales last year and is projected to do $2.75 million this year. The sales goal for 2025 is even loftier, at $5 million.

Founded in 2020 by chef Tom D’Ambrosio and his business partner Kyle Hollenbeck, the brand had 700 accounts by end of 2023. As of September 2024, AZ Lemonade Stand is sold in more than 60 Fry’s locations, and is available in over 1,000 retail locations throughout the Grand Canyon State.

The Arizona natives and friends, who met at Shea Middle School in Phoenix, are also partners in Aioli Gourmet Burgers where they started serving homemade lemonade — Arizona’s official state drink — in mason jars.

The idea for concocting a lemonade brand came after they opened an Aioli Gourmet Burgers inside a Fry’s grocery store. Hollenbeck said they were next to a sushi restaurant that was “cranking out all this sushi,” but they “couldn’t give away a burger.”

“We thought, ‘Oh, we’ve made it! We’re partnered with Fry’s’ … fun fact, nobody wants to eat a hamburger, a gourmet one, at that, while trying to shop in a grocery store,” Hollenbeck added.

This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.