Brooklyn-based Ample Hills Creamery is coming to the Market Line at Essex Crossing. The announcement was made today by Delancey Street Associates, the development group building the big mixed-used project in the former Seward Park Urban Renewal Area.
The first phase of the Market Line, a large cellar-level bazaar, is expected to open early next year at 115 Delancey St. (the developers had previously planned on opening the first part of the facility this year). Ample Hills Creamery, founded in 2011, recently began operating out of a factory in Red Hook. According to a press release, Ample Hills, “makes their ice cream the old-fashioned way with flavors that inspire nostalgia.” In the new outpost, they will, “create flavors unique to The Market Line that will reflect the history of the Lower East Side.”
Earlier this summer, CBS This Morning profiled Ample Hills Creamery, noting that owners Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith have created, “a cult following for their inventive flavors, each with a creative back-story.” Smith explained:
We have a shop in Gowanus. Gowanus is the canal in that neighborhood and it’s a toxic, fetid waste dump and so the flavor there is called ‘It Came from Gowanus.’ And it’s a deep, dark chocolate ice cream with a lot of things lurking in it, including white chocolate pearls to represent the oysters that hopefully will be part of the clean-up in the canal. So, we go through a lot of effort to start with a story and then think about flavors that can support that story.
The first section of the Market Line, located between Essex and Norfolk streets, will eventually include about 70 vendors. Those announced so far include: Cafe Grumpy, Ends Meat, Essex Pearl, Kuro-Obi by Ippudo, Nom Wah, Pilot Kombucha, Schaller & Weber, Tortillería Nixtamal, Veselka, The Pickle Guys, Doughnut Plant, Castania Nut Boutique, Substance Vitality Bar, Moon Man, Pho Grand and Rustic Table Shuk.
Delancey Street Associates also announced recently that the Tenement Museum would be opening a kiosk in the Market Line. Rohan Mehra of the Prusik Group (the firm handling commercial leasing for Essex Crossing) said, “being joined by the Tenement Museum feels like a validation of our mission and further highlights the support and enthusiasm of the community for our project.”
The Market Line will complement a newly expanded Essex Street Market, which is scheduled to open in October on the first and second floors of 115 Delancey St., a 25-story residential tower. Just last week, a new Target store opened in another Essex Crossing building, with a Trader Joe’s coming in October, as well as a 14-screen Regal movie theater opening before the end of the year. NYU Langone is already operating a new medical center out of 175 Delancey St., the first Essex Crossing building that was opened.
