As the couple carefully reopen their Ample Hills stores in Manhattan and Queens, and their new production facility and scoop shop in Industry City, Brooklyn, the new formula will gradually replace the original. Become. There are currently no plans to expand beyond New York City. “We said yes too many times,” Smith said.
Will their attempt at act two go more smoothly than act one?
Their plans have recent precedents. last year, Crumb Founders Mia and Jason Bauer bought back their own brand for $300 and reinvented it as a storeless supermarket and direct-to-consumer business. Their cupcakes and cookie jars are sold in New York City’s upscale supermarkets, and he’s just raised $1.5 million toward expansion.
“We didn’t need the money we spent on landlords and labor this time,” Bauer said.
But the owners of Ample Hills are sticking with bricks and mortar. “We want to get to know our customers again,” said Kusukuna, who described the feeling of entering the original store as “surreal.”
Smith characterized his state of mind last week as “excited, grateful and terrified.”
Ample Hills investor Brodsky isn’t worried. At 84, he’s seen a lot.
“They have already gone through two bankruptcies and built a brand that still exists,” he said. “It doesn’t happen unless you do something very special.”
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