If you lived in New York two summers ago, you probably remember the constant, endless lines across the street from the Whitney. If you live anywhere else in the world, chances are that you’ve seen plenty of pictures of sprinkle pools all over your Instagram feed. When the Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) first opened up in New York, tickets instantly sold out. As they opened up locations across the country in Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, the same thing kept happening! After two years, they’ve finally returned to New York with their most ambitious project yet, ironically named “The Pint Shop.”
As a long-time follower of the Museum of Ice Cream, I was beyond excited when I realized that The Pint Shop would be coming back to New York this summer. This time around, I knew I had to brave the long lines to get a look inside.
And now, for a look into my trip to The Pint Shop…
Anticipating a longer line, I arrived at The Pint Shop at 11 AM. When I got there, there was no line and no one around. I camped out until it’s opening at 12 PM, which got me a spot at the front of this line.
(They only let in 50 people at a time.)
As it neared opening time, two MOIC employees came out to greet the crowd. My personal favorite– this lovely lady! Not only did she say hello with a huge smile, she also got the crowd to do an “Ice Cream Dance” (with lots of whips) to get us excited!
(Peep the sprinkle crown that all of the staff wear!)
Do you ever imagine what a modern Willy Wonka Factory would look like? Well, my guess is it’s something like The Pint Shop.
When you walk in, you have two options. On your left are aisles full of cute little ice-cream related trinkets you can buy, and on your right are the interactive art installations and some free ice cream samples!
The MOIC has created 7 original flavors of ice cream — Piñata, Sprinkle Pool, Vanillionaire, Chocolate Crush, Cherrylicious, Churro Churro, and Nana bread– all of which can be tasted and bought at The Pint Shop. If you take a taste and are addicted, not only can you buy their original flavors at The Pint Shop, you can also purchase them at Target starting June 8th!
Now, for the installations..
First up, the cherry pit! While there’s no sprinkle pool, you will find a delightful life-sized ice cream carton filled with fake cherries!
Once you’ve thrown cherries left and right and littered the floor with them, you can swing in the next ice cream carton!
But don’t forget about the third ice cream carton. Because it’s absolutely bananas! See what I did there?
If you find yourself still craving some ice cream, you can always purchase another pint before you leave. And some sprinkles, or a stuffed banana, or fifteen other things you never knew you wanted until now.
Before you take your own trip to The Pint Shop, here are a few things to keep in mind:
The Pint Shop is located at 459 W 14th St, New York, NY 10014. It’s open from 12 PM- 9PM Monday through Sunday, but it is closed on Tuesdays.
They also offer Tasting Room reservations for $28. They’re currently completely booked but are reopening reservations on June 18th (mark your calendars, folks!). If you want the exclusive experience, but don’t want to spend the $$$, instead keep an eye out for their Pint Sessions. They’ll be offering 4 sessions: Dream and Paste, Pitch Your Pint, GIFS Galore, and DIY for Life. Dates will be announced June 10th.
Also, tickets to The Pint Shop are absolutely FREE! That means all you need is a little bit of patience and a solid chunk of time.