Bed Stuy Ice Cream Shop Lady Moo Moo to Expand to Bushwick

After more than a decade in business, Bed Stuy ice cream maker Lady Moo Moo is expanding its footprint across Broadway and into Bushwick with a new location across from Irving Square Park. It will be open year round offering milkshakes, candy by the pound and, of course, its speciality: ice cream.

However, Bed Stuy residents can fear not; the Chauncey Street location will remain open with its current schedule of seasonal weekends. Steve Lipschutz, who has worked at Lady Moo Moo since its storefront opened in 2013 and who took over the business from former pastry chef Benoit Gerin, told Brownstoner Lady Moo Moo couldn’t have got to where it is without the support of those who have become regulars at the original location at 365 Chauncey Street location and said the business wouldn’t abandon them.

“Growing up, my mother would always say that your house is only as good as your neighbor,” Lipschutz said. “We definitely couldn’t do it without the people that live around Chauncey Street, but also that live around Irving, so it’s very exciting.”

Lady Moo Moo will open in the former General Irving coffee shop at 1210 Halsey Street offering a full ice cream menu, milkshake bar, sundaes, and a bunch of different candy options that will be available by the pound. The ice cream will continue to be made at the Chauncey Street location.

“It’s going to be a nice mix of locally sourced candy, some nice local chocolate producers, but it’s also going to have everyone’s classic favorites, Pez dispensers, M&Ms, gummy bears, things like that, and it will definitely have a section that’s going to include candy from all over the world so everybody, either from their childhood or now in their childhood, there’s some good stuff,” Lipschutz said.

The store, which is already covered in an eye-catching bright blue and cow print by Travis Signs that has created buzz in the area, will have a walk-up window and indoor seating. The shop will host birthday parties, pop-ups, and other events, Lipschutz said. The walk-up window will allow the business to stay open to the public during events, he added

“We purposely decided not to do coffee because we don’t know coffee. We are ice cream specialists, but also so we want to leave room for all the other great coffee shops that are in the area,” he said. “I think it’d be a little disrespectful if we just showed up and started selling all this stuff, just because.” (He did add that affogatos and espresso milkshakes will likely make it onto the menu.)

Lady Moo Moo is replacing cafe General Irving, which closed in 2024 due to a local boycott and recurring protests that stemmed from the owners ties to the Israeli Defense Forces, according to local blog Grime Square. Lipschutz, who lives on Hancock Street near Irving Square Park, said the location found him, not the other way around.

“We’ve always been looking for a new location, or have been contacted by real estate people, but nothing ever ticked all the boxes. For us, it took all 10 years to really build up popularity to have people know where we are now so we weren’t going to make a move if it wasn’t right,” he said.

One evening, when he was at Irving Square Park playground with his daughters, he noticed the cafe was vacant and contacted the building owners to tour the space. “It just seemed to tick all the boxes as far as location, community that was here, proximity to a park, some customer overflow of people that knew about us. The space is amazing,” he said.

He said the local reaction to Lady Moo Moo joining the neighborhood has been “really great” from both those who know about the business and those who don’t yet. Local group Friends of Irving Square Park and Riseboro, which hosts a weekly market at the park, have welcomed it “with open arms” and Lady Moo Moo even dished out 500 scoops of ice cream for a recent Bushwick family day at the park.

For the rest of us to get a taste, Lipschutz said the goal, which he called a lofty one, is to have the grand opening on Halloween. After plumbing and construction are finished, “we’re sort of at the mercy of the health department,” he added.

When Lady Moo Moo does open its doors and roll up its window guard, he said it will be open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. year round.

[Photos by Anna Bradley-Smith unless noted otherwise]

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