Schumer with Smith, center background, and Cuscuca, right
Ample Hills’ founders open a new shop, called the Social
With lines extending down the block and a ribbon-cutting by Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Social scooped its way into existence Sunday
Ample Hills was for a bright moment Brooklyn’s own ice cream outpost made good, with a Walt Whitman reference folded into its name and complex, playful flavors brimming from every scoop. That was before over-expansion and mismanagement led to bankruptcy, as thoroughly documented by the chain’s own founders, Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith, on their podcast.
Now, the couple hopes to apply what they’ve learned from past mistakes to a new venture called The Social, which officially opened for business Sunday afternoon in Prospect Heights.
Before The Social had scooped its first scoop, a line extended from the corner of Washington Avenue and St. John’s Place, nearly all the way to Vanderbilt Avenue. Senator Chuck Schumer rolled up in a black SUV to cut the ribbon. “Please tell all your friends and neighbors to patronize The Social,” he told the crowd. “It shows that Brooklyn always gets better.”
So Social: Cuscuna and Smith
When Cuscuna and Smith first announced their plans to return this summer, they told Brooklyn magazine, “We love Brooklyn and all the spirited, diverse, beautiful people we have the opportunity to share it with. We can’t wait to gather once again at The Social.”
After expanding to 12 locations, striking partnerships with Disney, and getting kudos from Oprah, Ample Hills’ success quite literally melted away. The idea of The Social is to get back to what made Ample Hills so special, say Cuscuna and Smith, particularly after a year of a pandemic that forbade anyone from being, well, social.
“The word ‘social’ may be the most powerful word of all,” Cuscuna says, “as it defines what it means to be human. It is this shared experience of interconnectedness that we all long for and crave and it’s what we hope to foster.”
Ample Hills itself has continued to operate—and even expand—under the new ownership, Oregon-based manufacturer Schmitt Industries.
At The Social, which will also serve fresh donuts and coffee, new ice cream flavors recall Cuscuna and Smith’s earlier innovations: Bubble Mallow is a bubblegum and marshmallow flavor, and Oh Captain, My Capitan, which comes with Capn’ Crunch cereal chunks—and a new Whitman reference for a new shop
Photo by Statia Grossman
