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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Homemade Ice Cream Shop and a Craft Beer Store Open in Bed-Stuy

 Frozen Social, Bed-Vyne Brew and Bread Love all opened in Bed-Stuy, while BLKCARTEL mysteriously closed.
Frozen Social is a new ice cream shop in Bed-Stuy.
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BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A new shop in Bed-Stuy is bringing homemade ice cream to Franklin Avenue.

Frozen Social, opened last week at 501 Franklin Ave. by owner Garland Shields, 34, is a shop that uses natural ingredients to create homemade ice cream and sorbet, as well as fresh juice and smoothies, according to the owner.

"The neighborhood needs it," Shields said. "Kids in Bed-Stuy need a healthy choice for ice cream."

Shields, who also runs a local real estate business, began leasing the store last year, and opened for a one-month trial run before closing for the winter.

Since then, he began taking classes on making ice cream, turned off by the costs of working with a supplier, but also by an exchange he had with one supplier who only sold artificially flavored ice cream.

"I said, 'is it natural?'" Shields recalled. "He said, 'Natural? Who needs natural?'"

Now Shields rents space at a nearby ice cream manufacturer, and uses its equipment to use fresh fruit, cocoa and coffee beans for flavoring.

In addition to homemade flavors, Frozen Social carries ice cream from Hudson Valley creamery Jane's Ice Cream.

The shop features eight flavors of ice cream alongside sorbet and gelato, five kinds of smoothies and four different juices. Although he's starting with the basics, Shields eventually intends to expand the shop's choices.

"When we get more experienced making the ice cream, we'll start to get more exotic," the owner said.

The store's grand opening is July 4, Shields said.

Other openings and closings in Bed-Stuy:

Bed-Vyne Brew officially opened this month at 370 Tompkins Ave., with a kickoff party featuring live music all day. As previously reported at DNAinfo New York, the new store comes from the owners of Bed-Vyne Wine, just around the corner. It features a large craft beer selection on the shelves, and patrons can fill their growlers or sit for a pint at the bar.

A new cafe called Bread Love opened at 375 Stuyvesant Ave., featuring farm-fresh eggs and milk, pastries and sandwiches, Brownstoner reported. Take your food to go, or sit down in their yard at one of their picnic tables.

Men's clothing store BLKCARTEL, at 916 Bedford Ave., closed late last month without notice just one year after opening. Neighbors said they passed the storefront one day to find it empty, save for a pile of leftover clothes. The store's social media accounts have been inactive since 2012, and the owners could not immediately be reached for comment.