Google Maps
Yorkville’s long-running Emack & Bolio’s (1564 First Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets) closed briefly on Wednesday. The iconic sign was painted over by staff, and the shop reopened on Thursday with a new look.
East Side Feed spoke to one of the managers who said that the store’s owner had split from Emack & Bolios, a chain based in Boston, MA with a handful of locations around the city. The UES store, which has been around for about twenty years, will no longer be a part of the larger chain or offer Emack & Bolio’s products, but will instead run as an independent ice cream parlor called Lilo.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates
The manager, who didn’t want to give us her name, told us the owner has always loved Hawaii and the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch, so that’s where the name comes from. (She also didn’t want to give us the owner’s name.)
Advertisement
Lilo will be keeping the current employees on staff and will continue to hire from the neighborhood.
While Lilo will still carry an array of flavored cones, they will no longer have Emack’s marshmallow cereal (though there will still be an option to top cones with toasted marshmallow). And while you’ll see the same counter and chalkboard menus when you walk in, you’re going to start to see a lot of new ice cream flavors.
The current menu is from a small creamery in Maine, but management says they plan to cycle through offerings as they work to partner with new suppliers and find new and interesting ice cream flavors. They are working to bring in kosher ice creams from Brooklyn, more non-dairy options, as well as more Asian and South Asian flavors like ubi and pandan.
The manager emphasized their commitment to staying connected with the community. She encourages locals to drop by, explore their offerings, and share feedback on what they’d like to see stocked.
Ice cream is a new idea for the UES!
Ubi is not a thing. It’s Ube
Best of luck to them, but Kosher Ice Cream? Really?
Ever since the new owner took over the place went downhill. Too bad, E&B was a fixture of the neighborhood