Grand Opening: Hundreds Attend Ice Cream Party At New 18th Avenue Carvel

Bensonhurst is one of the last New York City neighborhoods where Carvel Ice Cream shops don’t just survive, but they thrive!

Just ask Sheepshead Bay-native brothers Perry and Evan Boon, 25 and 26, who held a grand opening party for their first storefront at 7111 18th Avenue on Monday, April 18, drawing more than 600 ice cream lovers throughout the day.

“This place was packed, we didn’t have any lines or regulations — so it was crowded as hell,” said Evan.

And business continues to boom. When we stopped by on Thursday, April 21, which was the franchise’s “Free Cone Day,” the shop’s somewhat shellshocked owners were sweeping up after having served 1,200 customers.

Though the brothers learned the trade from their father, who owns two Carvel locations — one on 86th Street and Bay 14th Street and another in Flatlands — the Boon boys say they are doing things a bit differently.

Every month, the store will offer a new ice cream flavor, available in both soft serve and hard ice cream, according to Evan, who works a digital advertising job by day.

“Last month the exotic flavor was green tea, and this month it will be Thai iced tea,” he said. (This reporter tried both versions, and the flavors were accurate, summery, and refreshing.)

The brothers are also community focused in their business model. Perry, who has an early education background and once worked at southern Brooklyn’s free after school program NIA, connects local public schools with discounted rates on ice cream for their after-school events.

This year, at Bensonhurst’s annual Festa di Santa Rosalia — AKA the 18th Avenue Feast — the brothers hope to set up a table in front of the store and dish out scoops of all their novelty flavors in waffle cones.

The neighborhood currently has three other Carvels — two in Bath Beach, and one on Bay Parkway and 65th Street — however, each business seems to put its own spin on the ice cream franchisee, and none are as centrally located on 18th Avenue.

We will keep y’all posted on future events and fun flavors the brothers come up with next. In the meantime, best of luck, Evan and Perry, on your new endeavor!

The Rundown: Carvel
Where: 7111 18th Avenue, near 71st Street
Phone: (347) 312-4690
Hours: 11am-11pm, 7 days a week
Reservations: Not necessary
Kid Friendly? Yes