Ice cream shop hurls its scoops at customers just for ‘fun’
If you love to play with your food, we’ve got a sweet treat for you.
Catch ‘N Ice Cream, opened by viral TikTok sensation Dylan Lemay, is more than just its unique flavor offerings.
There’s a literal catch: The 25-year-old’s Noho parlor has gone viral for slinging ice-cream scoops across the counter directly at customers.
Upon ordering one of their novelty flavors — Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Dark Chocolate Strawberry, to name a few — patrons are met with the ultimate sweet fete.
They must catch their frozen dessert in their cup after it’s lobbed in their direction.
“Since all our ice cream is in a ball, we took things a fun step further. Just like the first game you learned to play as a kid, we’ll let you catch your ice cream,” Lemay told The Post via email. “Yes, we’ll throw your ice cream into the air and let you catch it!”
Catch ‘N Ice Cream, Lemay’s brainchild, was inspired by his days working at Cold Stone Creamery, which is when his viral cone-making clips began circulating the internet. The young digital creator garnered millions of views and followers as his concoctions got trickier — and he started throwing ice cream to his co-workers.
Now, he can hurl his carefully curated ice-cream balls at customers instead.
“We not only let you eat it, but we also let you play with it,” Lemay said, adding that the parlor even offers a Behind the Counter experience, where patrons can pay to make, throw, catch and chop their own ice-cream balls.
The sweet shop has gone viral on TikTok — the platform that gave Lemay his start — with the account regularly posting clips of customers struggling to catch the cream.
But there’s no use crying over spilled milk — or cream, rather — if you do happen to miss your mark, as Catch ‘N Ice Cream won’t charge you for the faux pas.
One clip, which garnered more than 33,000 views, shows just how common it is for patrons to drop the ball — literally.
While people lamented over the wasted desserts, other commenters championed the innovative and immersive shop for throwing in some fun and recommended the hot, new spot.
Of course, the company’s official TikTok page also featured the successful catches, showing customers’ pleased grins after securing their ice-cream balls in their bowls.
“Catch ‘N Ice Cream is one of a kind in that we make all of our ice cream in balls. This ensures that every order of our ice cream has the perfect ratio of ice cream to toppings,” said Lemay, who claims to be the “largest ice cream-focused digital creator in the world.”
“So, if you’re like me and you love cookie dough ice cream, you’ll never have to worry that our ice cream won’t have enough cookie dough!” he added.
At Lemay’s last gig dishing up frozen desserts at Cold Stone Creamery, he decided to make videos from his point of view during his shifts. He’s since racked up more than 15 million followers across platforms, and they regularly tune in to watch his confectionary concoctions and cake-making clips.
Now, more than two years later, he’s slinging ice cream in his own shop, having opened Catch ‘N Ice Cream at 65 Bleecker St. in July 2022.
“Since growing up surrounded by ice cream, I have always wanted to own an ice cream shop,” he told The Post. “After growing my online following to over 15 million, I was then able to make that dream come true!”