For Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, co-founders of Ample Hills Creamery, building an ice cream business has been a rocky road.
The husband-and-wife duo started with an ice cream push cart before opening their first Ample Hills shop in Brooklyn, New York, in 2011. At its height, Ample Hills was valued at $40 million, with 13 scoop shops and an online store that shipped ice cream nationwide.
Eight years in, the success melted away. In March 2020, Smith and Cuscuna filed for business bankruptcy. Six months later, they filed for personal bankruptcy. In June 2020, Ample Hills Creamery was bought by Schmitt Industries, a machine parts manufacturer keen on entering the food business, for $1 million.