Ample Hills Founders Are Back With Prospect Heights' 'The Social'

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — The founders of Brooklyn-based ice cream shop Ample Hills have returned with their second act: A new Prospect Heights dessert shop called The Social.

The Social, which opened on Sunday, is serving up new flavors similar to Ample Hills' classics, as well as other sweets, like donuts and sorbet. It is located at 816 Washington Ave., on the corner of Washington Avenue and St. Johns Place.

The Social marks a return to the ice cream business for owners Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith after Ample Hills, their first ice cream company, filed for bankruptcy in March 2020, Brooklyn Paper reported, and was sold to an Oregon manufacturing company that July.

"We lost everything. But we didn't lose our love for the city, for Brooklyn, our home," Cuscuna and Smith wrote on The Social's website. "We spent the past year learning from our mistakes, and working on a new idea... the SOCIAL!"

The shop's decor and vibes are inspired by the 1970s, the decade the owners grew up in, arts and entertainment website Time Out reported.

"Our dream is to harness the power of ice cream to transport us to a place where we can, if only for a few moments, see the world through the eyes of a child, alive with wonder and magic, and a belief that anything is possible," Cuscuna and Smith wrote on their website.

Check out The Social's menu here.