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Vegan-Friendly Ice Cream Store in East Village to Close

By Serena Solomon | November 21, 2012 2:00pm
 Stogo ice cream will shut its doors based on high rent and a loss of sales after Hurricane Sandy.
Stogo ice cream will shut its doors based on high rent and a loss of sales after Hurricane Sandy.
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Stogo

EAST VILLAGE —Stogo, the vegan-friendly ice cream store that is a beacon to the dairy intolerant, is shutting up its East Village shop.

Hurricane Sandy hastened the closure, a source said.

A person involved in the business confirmed the closing, and Stogo notified customers via its Twitter feed that Sunday will be the last day to grab a scoop of hemp, soy or coconut milk ice cream.

The business had been battling high rent all year. Eight days without income during the post-hurricane blackout, combined with the upcoming wintertime slowdown in sales,  led Stogo's owners to make the call to close.

"We were talking about closing, but [Hurricane Sandy] put a nail in the coffin," said the source, who works at the store on East 10th Street between Second and Third Avenue.

"We were going to try and fund-raise to move, but then Sandy happened and I didn't want to ask people to help move our shop when people were homeless and had lost everything," the source added.

Partners in the business of four years have yet to discuss if the shop will open elsewhere, or sell its product in other ways. But the name Stogo will no longer exist, the source said.

Every flavor is made on the premises from scratch, including a soy-based Bananas Fosters, a chocolate flavor made with coconut base and a hemp-based ginger vanilla bourbon flavor.