Van Leeuwen at Manhattan Inn!

Greenpointers: No need to scream for ice cream.

Despite the rain and disagreeable weather, the hotly-anticipated Van Leeuwen Artisin Ice Cream Cafe opened its doors at 632 Manhattan Avenue, right next to the Manhattan Inn.

The fittingly cream-colored wall of the shop is decorated with a charming mural: homage to the famous custard-colored ice cream trucks where Van Leeuwen got its start.

The shop will serve up the same unique flavors North Brooklynites know, love and chase after on hot summer days. Only this time, the shop won’t disappear down Bedford Avenue at the next green light.

“We’ve always wanted to have a real neighborhood place,” said Laura O’Neill, co-owner and wife to Ben Van Leeuwen, who started the company with his brother Pete. “We all live right down the block, so it doesn’t get more local than this!”

The ice cream shop is the result of a very sweet partnership with the Manhattan Inn, which is actually hosting Van Leeuwen in its space. O’Neill had stopped by Manhattan Inn in December to plan a birthday party, struck up a conversation with one of the owners and before she knew it, was offered a space right next to the bar/restaurant.

“It’s great, because we wanted to do coffee and pastries in the morning, and of course ice cream, and Manhattan Inn has a bar-and-restaurant-type feel,” she said. “We really compliment each other.”

Like Manhattan Inn, the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream shop was constructed by Evan and Oliver Haslegrave, better known as hOmE, a Brooklyn-based design and construction partnership. All in, the build-out of the Van Leeuwen space took approximately two months, from conception to completion.

“We do miss the trucks a bit,” O’Neill confessed. “But this space is beautiful, and it’s so nice to have a home base.”

Van Leeuwen opens in the morning on weekdays, and serves Intelligensia Coffee and a variety of pastries for those who would rather not eat ice cream for breakfast. They plan to stay open until midnight in the summertime, but for now they close at 6pm.

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