After a six year run, the popular soft-serve shop has closed down permanently.
Yet another popular Philly spot falls victim to the pandemic. Doug Quint and Bryan Petroff owners of Big Gay Ice Cream, announced on Wednesday, January 27, they would be closing the ice cream parlor’s South Street location for good. The shop, which opened in 2015, was Big Gay Ice Cream’s first spot outside of New York City.
“Empty store fronts, the result of both rising rents and the COVID-19 pandemic, have settled in. Many great businesses have closed. It ain’t what it was. As a seasonal business with no indoor seating we recognize that the location will never truly recover. Therefore, we have decided to call it,” reads Quint and Petroff’s Instagram post.
The ice cream shop had not reopened since early last year when the pandemic first started. The duo also announced it would be closing its original shop in NYC’s East Village, their first location after starting up with a truck.
Big Gay Ice Cream started off in 2009 and has quickly become known for its specialty delivering top-notch soft serves. It has been named best ice cream parlor and best food truck in the country, and is known for its high-quality ingredients mixed with creative and fun toppings and flavors.
Fortunately, while Big Gay Ice Cream may have closed its South Street shop, Quint and Petroff don’t seem to be done with Philly. In their post the pair explained they were hoping to return to the city soon. “We hope to return to a new Philadelphia location,” they wrote. “For now, we’ve put the entire shop in storage.”
See also: This Philly Nightclub Is Home To The City’s Only Ice Bar!
[Featured image: Instagram / @biggayicecream]