Ample Hills Ice Cream Shops Remain Frozen In Shutdown

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Ample Hills Creamery shows no sign of snapping out of its business freeze.

The beloved ice cream company's Park Slope outpost remained darkened and closed Monday, long after the weeklong furlough owners announced before the New Year.

Alongside a notice of a planned Dec. 26 reopening, another less-encouraging posting was affixed to the front door: a landlord's demand for nearly $113,000 in back rent.

"You are encouraged to pay the above outline due amount on or before January 25, 2023," the demand read.

Requests for comment from Schmitt Industries, which owns Ample Hills, weren't returned to Patch.

The only public statement appears to be one from Michael Zapata, the company's CEO and chairman, posted on the Ample Hills website on Dec. 19.

It announced Ample Hills would shut down for at least a week as company leaders seek additional investment capital needed to continue running.

"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 statement read.

The shutdown has apparently stretched into an indefinite stage.

Most Ample Hills locations are listed as "temporarily closed" on Google Maps. Calls made by Patch to several stores went unanswered.

The original Ample Hills store in Prospect Heights along Vanderbilt Avenue, a short distance from the Park Slope location, was likewise closed when visited by a Patch reporter Monday.

But Ample Hills has appeared on the verge of a deep freeze before. The company's original owners filed for bankruptcy in 2020, according to court records, which led to its sale to Schmitt.

The founders of Ample Hills — Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith — have since opened a new dessert shop in Prospect Heights called The Social.