This beloved local ice cream purveyor badly needs a big scoop of cash.
Amid what was announced last month as only a temporary furlough, Ample Hills’ 12 locations remain shut down, the cult New York-area scoop-slinger at risk of being “desserted.”
“Schmitt Industries, Inc. today announced that Ample Hills Creamery will be shutting down operations for at least a week, effective immediately,” reads an announcement posted to the business’s website on Dec. 19 by Schmitt, which is the holding company that purchased the Brooklyn-born brand after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. “This action is required while the company seeks the additional investment capital required for it to continue operations. There is no assurance that additional capital will be obtained and if the company cannot raise sufficient capital, it will be required to shut down operations indefinitely.”
The store’s Instagram account has been dark since Nov. 22, with some fans leaving comments on the last post to question the closure and beg the ice cream maker not to melt away. “Guys don’t go,” wrote one cold treat lover.
During the ice cream maker’s production freeze, an ominous note has appeared in the Park Slope location’s front door demanding $113,000 in back rent.
“You are encouraged to pay the above outline due amount on or before January 25, 2023,” reads the landlord’s request, Patch reported.
In addition to the Park Slope shop, Ample Hills has four other stores in Brooklyn, two in Manhattan, two in Queens, one in New Jersey, one in California and a factory in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. The first brick and mortar location opened in 2011, in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Meanwhile, Ample Hills’ founders — married couple Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna — have moved on from the national business they started from a pushcart and have since launched a new ice cream concept, this one called The Social.
Neither Ample Hills nor Schmitt Industries immediately returned The Post’s request for comment.
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