We tried Ample Hills Creamery, the New York ice cream shop that's raising millions to become the next Ben & Jerry's

Business Insider - Kaitlin Hatton

Ample Hills Creamery has become a favorite among New York City-based ice cream aficionados thanks in part to its rich tastes and zany flavors.

The local chain was born in Brooklyn in the spring of 2011 to budding entrepreneurs Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscana. The couple began creating ice cream and baked goods from scratch, spending hours a day churning out their original flavors. Ample Hills has grown rapidly, expanding to nine locations in New York City, one in Disney World and now, a new store coming to New Jersey. 

Smith said he has big plans for the future, including growing the business to be on the level of Starbucks or Ben & Jerry's. He told Bloomberg that he plans to complete a Series A funding round this fall, and is hoping to raise $8 million. Plans for a massive ice cream factory are also in the works.

"We want our brick-and-mortar shops to be community hubs in the way that [Starbucks executive chairman] Howard Schultz transformed the idea of coffee shops into a destination. Where people go to pass the time ... we want to do that with ice cream," he said. 

I was curious to see if Ample Hills Creamery would live up to the hype, so I visited two locations within New York City.

Named after a lilting Walt Whitman poem, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," the original Vanderbilt Street location aimed to capture the welcoming attitude of Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood.

Business Insider - Kaitlin Hatton

Inside the store, I found bright colors, friendly employees, and more ice cream flavors than I could have imagined. A few days after the store opened in 2011, Ample Hills had to temporarily close its doors due to an ice cream shortage. Demand was much higher than they had anticipated.

Business Insider - Kaitlin Hatton

When asked about the comparison to Ben & Jerry's, Smith says he is "honored and thrilled by the comparison." He added: "Ben & Jerry's is my favorite ice cream (outside of ours of course!) and they were truly an inspiration to us. We feel we are different because of our focus on building dynamic and experiential scoop shops."

Business Insider - Kaitlin Hatton

The cones and cups range from $2.75 to $8.25, depending on the size.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider