Brooklyn's Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Opens On Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side has a new spot for ice cream just in time for the hottest stretches of the summer.

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream opened this week on Second Avenue between East 84th and 85th streets. The Brooklyn-based business features a selection of "artisan" flavors including many vegan offerings.

"Here’s the scoop: We are open on the Upper East Side at 1625 2nd Ave & couldn’t be more excited to bring you even more classic & vegan scoops uptown!" the business wrote in an Instagram post.

Van Leeuwen is rolling out a new flavor — vegan vanilla almond chip — at all of its stores this week. The Upper East Side location is also offering a German chocolate cake flavor exclusively at the new store. The flavor is made from chocolate ice cream, Askinosie Chocolate single origin chocolate cake, coconut pecan frosting and a fudge swirl.

The Upper East Side store is the latest expansion for Van Leeuwen, which started out as a single ice cream truck. The company is also opening stores in SoHo, Prospect Heights and on the Upper West Side. Van Leeuwen plans to expand its brand to 1,000 stores nationwide and by the end of this year plans on establishing its wholesale presence on places as far off as Texas, Florida and the Rocky Mountain region, according to a press release.

Van Leeuwen serves up both vegan and dairy flavors made with simple ingredients. The dairy flavors are made of milk, cream, sugar and egg yolks whereas the vegan flavors are made of cashew milk, coconut milk, extra virgin coconut oil, sugar, cocoa butter and carob bean, according to the business' website.

"Van Leeuwen Classic and Vegan ice creams are made with just a handful of fresh ingredients. Each flavor is a celebration of some of the world's best artisan producers and farmers both local and from around the world," the website reads.

Photo by Brendan Krisel/Patch