As the Ice Cream Churns

After losing Ample Hills 2.0 and The Social, we weren’t planning on starting another business — especially not one involving cracklin' chicken smash burgers-and yet, here we are. In this episode we talk about how long walks through grocery aisles, lots or research and experimentation, hosting R&D dinners and a lingering ache to create again led us somewhere completely unexpected: Ramblin&#...

Two years after losing The Social and Ample Hills, and almost four since our last podcast, we’re finally ready to talk about it. This episode is part catch-up, part reflection, and part new beginning — the story of loss, rebuilding, and finding our way forward. Join us as we begin our next venture and continue this journey together.

After everything we’ve been through, we finally opened the Social! It was surreal — the community showed up, the energy and excitement and support was incredible, and even Senator Chuck Schumer was there to cut the ribbon and welcome us back. In this episode, we share what that moment meant to us, along with the ups and downs that came with those first few months of starting over.

We’ve been pouring our hearts into building The Social, our new ice cream parlor, for the past few months — and Opening Day is just around the corner. The paint’s barely dry, the to-do list feels endless, and we’re still wondering if we’ll ever truly feel “ready.” But ready or not, it’s happening. In this episode, we share the chaos, excitement, and last-minute hurdles that come with bringing a dr...

We’re halfway through construction on the Social, and things are getting real. Between supply-chain delays, out-of-stock equipment, and the constant fear we’re forgetting something major, every day feels like a race against time. In this episode, we share the behind-the-scenes highs and lows of building a shop during the lingering pandemic — from debating light fixtures to finalizing which of Bria...

We’re breaking ground on our new shop while packing up and moving our family out of the only home they’ve ever known — the place where we built our dreams, raised our kids, and weathered the hardest chapters of our lives. All while trying to rebuild after bankruptcy. It’s chaotic, emotional, and a little bit hopeful. This episode is about what it really means to start again.

March 16th, 2021 — one year to the day after we filed for bankruptcy — we turned the key on a new beginning. We signed a lease for a new space, a new company, and a new chapter. This episode is about the story behind the name, and the multitude of mixed emotions it takes to start again.

This week we answer many of the questions listeners have had throughout the podcast.

Starting and running a business with your partner has it's own set of difficulties. Raising a family, growing a business and maintaining your relationship can be even more challenging.  This week we explore what it means to raise a family, raise a business and how best to stay balanced and joyous throughout. 

We'd opened our first shop on Vanderbilt Ave.  with our own money. When we decided to grow Ample Hills and open a factory we had to borrow money from the bank. The only way the bank would loan the business money was if Brian and I signed a personal guarantee.  That means if the business goes belly up (bankrupt), then we still owe that money. 

After we'd exhausted all efforts to raise money, we filed for bankruptcy. We filed on  March 15th,  the day before New York City went into lockdown due to COVID-19.  It was a very dark and scary time on so many levels and yet we had high hopes for the value and sale of the company we created from scratch.

It was summer of 2019 when we learned we had a cash flow problem and wouldn't make it through the winter. We spent the next 9 months trying to raise money to raise the company.

We opened our Factory in Brooklyn in July of 2018 but didn't start making ice cream until September. And there was a big learning curve...\ ** Sonic Note ** Near the end of the episode the white noise that you hear is the sound of rain on the log cabin we recorded this episode at, in the Adirondacks.

We opened our Disney shop in May of 2016 at Disney's Boardwalk in Orlando.  This precipitated the need to open a much larger production facility as we'd reached capacity at our Gowanus location.  The search to build a factory where we had 100% control over our ice cream making and our baking had begun. But our vision was always about being playful, educating folks on how ice cream is made and tell...

Once we started shipping ice cream we were able to attract some famous fans such as Bob Iger,  Steven Spielberg, Oprah and JJ Abrams to name but a few...

We started with a single pushcart in Prospect Park in the summer of 2010 and opened our first scoop shop in May of 2011.  We were novice entrepreneurs and new parents in search of a neighborhood ice cream shop filled with nostalgia and whimsy and over the top, playful ice cream flavors. We are proud to have founded Ample Hills Creamery; named after a Walt Whitman poem about the connections between...