Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Opens New UWS Location

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Rapidly-expanding ice cream chain Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream opened its newest location Monday on the Upper West Side. The store is the company's second ice cream shop in the neighborhood.

Van Leeuwen's newest outpost on the Upper West Side is located in an 850-square-foot space on Columbus Avenue near West 72nd Street. The store dished out $1 scoops in the afternoon to celebrate its grand opening and is offering a special flavor — oat milk Strawberry Fields ice cream — for a limited time.

Upper West Siders flocked to the new ice cream store to take advantage of the deal, neighborhood blog I Love the Upper West Side first reported.

Real estate firm Lee & Associates NNYC helped Van Leeuwen securing a ten-year lease for the location, the firm announced in late 2018. The Columbus Avenue location is one of six new stores Van Leeuwen will open in New York City this year.

"The quality of Van Leeuwen's product is evident in the crowds that can be seen at nearly every location," Jaime Schultz of Lee & Associates said in a December 2018 statement. "I believe consumers are mindful of choosing a quality product and that is linked to the success of the brand."

Van Leeuwen serves up both vegan and dairy flavors made with simple ingredients. The dairy flavors are made using milk, cream, sugar and egg yolks whereas the vegan flavors are made using 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.

The company's ice cream is made in a factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.