Ample Hills Creamery
Ice cream shop · Prospect Heights
623 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238, USA
Highlights
Handcrafted small-batch ice cream using local organic ingredients
Handcrafted small-batch ice cream using local organic ingredients
"We love ice cream. Love it. Apparently, so does everyone else, especially when it comes to this place. The lines at Ample Hills are out the door and around the block pretty much right up until they close at 11pm. Because this isn’t your normal ice cream, it’s the kind of ice cream that even Ben & Jerry’s wouldn’t dare to conjure. So get your tastebuds ready for a wild adventure. And if you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be young, just ask for two scoops of “The Munchies” and get ready to be served a creamy brain-freeze trip back in time to revisit your childhood." - Aki Carpenter & Chris Huban
"Walt Whitman once wrote, "Brooklyn of ample hills was mine." Nowadays, Brooklyn belongs to Ample Hills Creamery. Their ice cream is more influential than the Bard of Long Island ever was, probably because he was not as creamy and delicious. Everybody's favorite flavor is the Salted Crack Caramel, but the staff are notoriously generous with the samples until you figure that out. In the wintertime we prefer the hot chocolate, which is almost as thick as the ice cream." - Hyperakt
"Voted the best ice cream in NYC, getting ice cream from Ample Hills Creamery is an experience. Each batch is churned in Brooklyn and shipped all over the United States. But there is nothing like having someone give a recommendation and have a cone passed to you. This location has its own flavor that you can’t get anywhere else: a root beer float inspired creation called Floating Over the High Line." - Alisha Austin
"Founded in 2011 in Prospect Heights, this ice cream shop exploded to 17 locations and became known as a top ice cream destination, but by 2020 the operators filed for bankruptcy and the founders were forced to sell the business to Schmitt Industries for $1 million; Schmitt then ran it into the ground, closing all 12 remaining locations amid allegations of unpaid rent. After a spring relaunch attempt, founders Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith say they were later fired by the very investors who had helped buy back the business, a decision they attribute to clashes with CEO Lisa Teach, though investor Norm Brodsky told Inc. that the reason for their termination surpassed issues with the CEO. Smith admits, 'We did a little too much trusting and not enough verifying,' and regrets proceeding with the contract as written, while Cuscuna says it wasn’t just a job but their life’s work — the communities, the brands, the ice cream, and the creativity." - Emma Orlow
"I learned that the Brooklyn-based ice cream chain Ample Hills, which went from beloved to bankrupt in a little over a decade, will reopen under its original owners this week. The shop declared bankruptcy last year with 14 locations in New York City, including a giant Red Hook production facility that cost nearly $7 million to build, and was purchased by Schmitt Industries for $1 million; Schmitt couldn’t turn things around, and last month founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna bought the brand back for $150,000. The couple will reopen their original scoop shop in Prospect Heights on Wednesday, followed by three more New York City locations this summer." - Luke Fortney
