Summer is officially here, and so are the cooling treats: Welcome Ollie’s Ice Cream + Stuff, a new artisanal ice cream shop in Bushwick, with frozen desserts for dogs and their humans!
The grand opening was held June 1, with great success.
“It was honestly, more than I could ask for,” said owner and founder, Eric Kyriakopoulos. “We opened at 12 p.m. and there was already a line forming outside, people with their dogs, that was awesome to see. You could see a lot of people were anticipating this!”
From 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. around a thousand people came by, and around 300 pup cups were sold, “It was fantastic, we sold out of a lot of tubs, and closed two hours early because we ran out.”
It all started when Kyriakopoulos, 34, founder and owner of the shop, a longtime resident of Bushwick, realized there are no dessert spots in the neighborhood.
As a professional bartender himself, he realized locals need more than just a drink. “I’ve bartended in the area for a while, there’s a billion bars in the area,” Kyriakopoulos told Bushwick Daily. “Me and my girlfriend love ice cream and dessert, and not many places have ice cream, and we end up going to the supermarket anyway.”
The two most popular flavors this weekend were Midnight Mint and Bread and Roses, they also nearly sold out of gluten-free cones, and the most popular topping was Lucky Charms marshmallows.
Kyriakopoulos shared that the customers were “ice cream people,” curious with the offered flavors, and gave great feedback.
“They appreciated an artisan scoop of ice cream,” he said. “Chocolate and Vanilla weren’t too popular, everyone knows what it tastes like, so people were getting explorative.”
As for the four-legged and fuzzy customers, the dog ice cream was a big hit, as well. Their dog ice cream’s working title is “Peanut Butter Pumpkin Butt,” made of pumpkin puree—great for the digestive system—and no-sugar peanut butter for flavor, and a fat-free cashew yogurt for a creamy finish.
“Half of the fun was getting it out of the cups, it was pretty stimulating for them,” laughed Kyriakopoulos. “Some owners said their dogs are a bit picky, but no ice cream was left behind.”
The anticipated ice cream shop will currently operate from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. Follow their Instagram for schedule updates, flavor announcements, and, of course, puppy pics.
All images courtesy of Ollie’s Ice Cream + Stuff.
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