Nitro Nostalgia might be the only ice cream shop in Chicago that feels like one big science experiment.
"It's like you're in high school chemistry class," said Kamillah Lucas, manager of the new ice cream spot in Bronzeville. She runs the shop with her dad Garland Lucas.
But it's not your typical ice cream shop. At Nitro Nostalgia, the Lucases use liquid nitrogen to create unique frozen concoctions.
"Liquid nitrogen is made by compressing nitrogen in the air that we normally breathe," Garland Lucas said. "When they compress it, it turns into a liquid. Then, as you pour the liquid out, anything that's not in its natural state wants to return to its natural state, so as soon as it hits the atmosphere, it turns back into a gas."
Garland Lucas said this creates a "reverse fog." And besides just looking cool, he said the use of liquid nitrogen leads to creamier, better tasting ice cream.
"This ice cream almost melts in your mouth," he said. "You have not seen one person who didn't smile on the first bite, and that's something you just don't get from the regular hard, hand-packed ice cream."
It's an idea he had after visiting a similar ice cream shop in Florida while on vacation. Though he had never really planned on starting a business, after retiring from the railroad, he said he wanted to do something that would give back to the community.
And being able to run the shop with his daughter Kamillah Lucas made the whole operation that much easier.
"Especially being a new business is the trust factor because any owner wants someone running the operation that they that they can fully trust," he said. "And on the personal side for me, just to watch her grow in that leadership role, I could just sit back and smile."
Kamillah Lucas is the mastermind behind Nitro Nostalgia's flavors, which are all named after iconic songs that evoke a sense of, well, nostalgia.
"We wanted it to feel familiar for people," Kamillah Lucas said. "We thought about the things that we love, and music is just one of those things that's universal across generations, across demographics."
As you browse the menu you'll notice some familiar names like "Twist and Shout," "Copa Cabana" and some of Kamillah Lucas' own favorites like "Papa Don't Peach" and a chocolate-peanut butter creation called "Crazy in Love," named after the famous Beyoncé tune.
But beyond the ice cream and its unique names and flavors, Kamillah Lucas said Nitro Nostalgia is, first and foremost, a gathering space for the community.
"In our radius, there's not too many places for people to come in, sit down, stay a while, enjoy their experience, and I think that was something that was needed in our community," she said.
The Lucases encourage customers to sit back and stay awhile, with ample seating and a selection of old-school board games for customers to enjoy.
And despite only being open for about seven months, Nitro Nostalgia has already gained quite the following.
"The reactions we've gotten are just in awe, just in awe to see how much people really like the ice cream," Kamillah Lucas said. "We know it, but to see other people have that same love and admiration for it is amazing."