Podcast appearances and mentions of jackie cuscuna

#92. We're kicking off Season 3 of The meez Podcast with an inspiring conversation about resilience, reinvention, and really good ice cream. In this episode, Josh sits down with Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith, the founders of Ample Hills Creamery. Jackie and Brian share candid insights on what it takes to start over in the food industry, the lessons they've learned about business and creativity, and how they're keeping the magic of Ample Hills alive. They reflect on the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, from expansion struggles to the realities of bankruptcy. The pair also explores the importance of quality control, strategic partnerships, and storytelling in branding. Plus, offer insights into developing new food concepts and their unexpected pivot from ice cream to chicken wings.Whether you're an entrepreneur, or just someone who appreciates a great comeback story, this is one episode you don't want to miss.Links and Resources:Visit meez: https://www.getmeez.comFollow meez on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getmeezVisit the Ample Hills Creamery Website: https://amplehills.com/homeChapters:00:00 The Ice Cream Dream Begins03:05 Crafting the Perfect Ice Cream05:59 The Art of Flavor Creation08:57 Behind the Scenes of Ample Hills11:59 Innovations in Ice Cream Making14:56 The Business of Ice Cream17:53 Lessons Learned and Future Plans22:52 Quality Control and Consistency in Ice Cream Production24:23 The Journey from Neighborhood Shop to Scaling Up26:28 The Role of Partnerships and Opportunities in Growth28:44 The Impact of Disney and Celebrity Endorsements33:20 The Rise and Fall: Navigating Success and Bankruptcy42:04 Reinventing the Brand: From Ice Cream to Chicken46:52 Creative Ideation: The Process Behind New Concepts

Isaac Mizrahi sits down with Ample Hills Creamery co-founders and co-owners, Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith, to discuss his favorite topic… ice cream. They chat about how their ice cream company shot to success with fans like Oprah and Steven Spielberg, how they lost everything, what it's like running a business together as a married couple and more. Follow Hello Isaac on @helloisaacpodcast on Instagram and TikTok, Isaac @imisaacmizrahi on Instagram and TikTok and Jackie, Brian and Ample Hills Creamery on Instagram @amplehills.(Recorded on September 12, 2023)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ample Hills Creamery was started in 2010 in a tiny shop on Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn.  From there it grew a cult-like following and […] Read More

On March 16, Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna signed a lease on a storefront for their new ice cream business The Social. As it happens, March 16 was one year to the day that Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna filed for personal and Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Ample Hills, the ice cream company they founded a decade ago. The couple, married for nearly 20 years, joins the podcast to discuss the spectacular rise and fall of Ample Hills—and what they're up to next.  Brooklyn news and views you can use: bkmag.com Email: hello@bkmag.com Follow along on Facebook: Brooklyn Magazine Twitter: @brooklynmag Instagram: @brooklynmagazine Follow Brian Braiker on Twitter: @slarkpope

Husband and wife duo Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna founded Ample Hills Creamery in Brooklyn in 2010 after Brian left a career as a screenwriter and audio producer.  The brand grew quickly, counting Bob Iger, Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, and Oprah Winfrey as fans.  Brian and Jackie talk to Heath about their fast climb and steep fall, declaring bankruptcy just as coronavirus was shutting down New York and ultimately losing their roles in the company they founded.  

There’s a lot of debate surrounding the exact origins of everybody’s favorite frozen treat, but experts generally agree it’s been around for more than half a millennium. In this episode, Marc learns all about ice cream’s power to tell a story through flavor from Ample Hills founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna. He’s also joined by his friend, chef Scott Conant, who explains how ice cream fits into fine dining and dishes on its delicious Italian cousins: gelato and sorbetto. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Ample Hills Creamery owners Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith tell their story of grappling with success so overwhelming that they were afraid it would cost them their business before it even got off the ground. In this episode of Rally, a podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, we hear about how neglecting to plan for success led Ample Hills Creamery to close its doors just a few days after opening in 2011. Ample Hills opened in Brooklyn, New York, with ambitions of being a “small, little neighborhood ice cream shop.” Following a career in screenwriting and radio dramas, Brian hungered for a new medium to tell stories. As a lifelong ice cream lover, he and his wife decided to open an ice cream parlor where families could hang out and enjoy community. When Ample Hills opened just before Memorial Day weekend in 2011, the couple was blown away with the crowds swarming their shop. Within the first few days of being open, they realized that they’d drastically underestimated how much ice cream they would sell. The store closed four days after opening so Jackie and Brian could hire more staff, make ice cream and prepare for how to handle so many customers. The couple had poured all of their money into opening Ample Hills and worried about what would happen when their re-opened. Would people come back? Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: Sweet Emotional Piano String Instrumental Midtempo by Jason Garner A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 The Golden Hour by Larry Bryant Alien Express, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1XEo4yZ59o You Inspire Me by Aaron Stepanik Ample Hills prepares to open, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1XEo4yZ59o Don't Leave Me by Marcin Gasiewicz My Dreams Come True by Marcin Gasiewicz Modern Inspiring Acoustic by Seastock Links: Learn more about Ample Hills +https://www.amplehills.com/pages/about +“So Successful, a New Ice Cream Shop Closes After 4 Days” https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/so-successful-a-new-ice-cream-shop-closes-after-4-days/ + “Bullish invests in ‘Star Wars’ ice cream” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Greenwich-firm-invests-in-Star-Wars-ice-12425328.php + “Ample Hills Creamery raises $8 mln Series A led by Rosecliff Ventures” https://www.pehub.com/2017/12/ample-hills-creamery-raises-8-mln-series-a-led-by-rosecliff-ventures/ + “The Ice Cream Oprah Fell in Love With and 13 More Delicious Hostess Gifts” http://www.oprah.com/gift/ample-hills-ice-cream?editors_pick_id=58475 Special thanks to Hearst Connecticut Media reporter Justin Papp for his reading of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman.

Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna are the co-founders of the delicious, creative and playful ice cream company, Ample Hills. They both have past careers as teachers, Brian later went on to become a screenwriter and director before founding Ample Hills. Ample Hills are known for their chunky ice creams and wacky names but did you know they make every single ingredient from scratch? Brian gives us a basic guide on how to deconstruct a food and recreate it as ice cream and we get Ample Hill's opinion on the artisanal ice cream scene and where they draw their inspirations from.

What is it about ice cream? People are head over heals with it in a way that is rarely paralleled with other foods. On a topical episode of Eat Your Words, host Talia Ralph sits down with Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, co-founders of Ample Hills Creamery and co-authors of Ample Hills Creamery – The Cookbook. Find out how Brian’s past life as a writer of “monster movie” helps inform his work as an ice cream maker, learn about their plans for a new shop in Gowanus and hear what makes their cookbook stand out from its recipe-driven peers. This program was brought to you by Rolling Press. “Growing up, ice cream was the first food love that I had. It’s uniquely American and part of our mythology.” [03:00] “People think Ample Hills and they don’t think Brooklyn. The hills have been paved over but there used to be hills with pastures and dairy farms in Brooklyn. The name is a nice way to touch back on the history of Brooklyn.” [12:00] –Brian Smith on Eat Your Words “We wanted to invite people into the book the way we invite people into our shop.” [21:00] –Jackie Cuscuna on Eat Your Words