We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Petrushka Bazin Larsen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Petrushka below.

Petrushka, appreciate you joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

When we opened Sugar hill Creamery, we had no experience as ice cream owners and operators. We found a space close to our house that was affordable but only 500 square feet. We decided to dedicate a majority of the space to customer seating. On the first day we opened, we had a line going down the block for four hours. When we closed, we didn’t have any ice cream left, which was exciting and terrifying because we planned to be open the next day and with the equipment that we had, it was taking us two days to make ice cream.

Since we made and sold our ice cream from this store, didn’t have a ton of production space, and had no idea that people would be as excited about our concept as they were, we obviously had to rethink our equipment. We realized that we needed a hardening case so that our ice cream could get hard faster. The hardening case that we bought was 600 lbs and required four people to move it. It was also very tall. There was nowhere to put it in the store. And this is where this story gets absurd.

We had to find a place to store this freezer since it wouldn’t fit in our store. It traveled up and down the street to other stores and places located on the same street where our store is located. One of the locations was actually the basement of a brownstone. The building’s super who presented himself as the owner told us we could keep the freezer there for a fee. When the real owner found out on Father’s Day of that year, she kicked us out. We asked her if we could move the freezer the next day and she conceded. That’s when I had the great idea to move the freezer right outside of our storefront and camouflage it like it was an ice machine. It was very clearly not an ice machine, but I thought if we spraypainted it and made it look like something that just belonged outside of our store, no one would notice. And no one did notice until that fall when we got a $1200 ticket for storing this locked freezer on the street.

But you know what? I just reframed it in my mind – $1,200 for several months of storage in Manhattan? That’s actually a pretty good deal!

That freezer now lives in our second store’s commissary, still bearing all the graffiti from its time on the street. It’s like a battle scar, a reminder of those early days when we had to get creative to survive. We’ve grown so much since then – from that one tiny 500-square-foot store to five different locations across Harlem, Time Out Market, and the East Village. We’re even in The Met now!

Looking back, we probably should have gotten more consulting from experienced business owners before opening. But sometimes too much research can keep you from taking action. We needed to move, to make this dream a reality. And if we had let that one freezer crisis stop us, we wouldn’t have grown into what we are today.

I think that’s what entrepreneurship is really about – constant problem-solving, refusing to let obstacles stand in your way, and keeping your eyes on your goals even when things get tough. Every time I see that graffitied freezer in our commissary, it reminds me of how far we’ve come and what’s possible when you just keep pushing forward.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Back in 2017, my husband Nick and I realized that our neighborhood–Harlem where we have lived now for 20 years, did not have a family-owned ice cream shop where you could enjoy a scoop made by an actual person that you could call by name. With my background in museum education and curation, I saw ice cream as more than just a sweet treat – it was a medium for storytelling and bringing people together.

What started as a dream for more flexibility and deeper community connections has turned into something far bigger than we imagined. We’re now Harlem’s first family-owned artisanal ice cream shop, with five locations including spots at Brooklyn’s TimeOut Market. You can also find our ice cream in the cafés at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sugar Hill Creamery has become known for unexpected flavors and spins on classics. When we make our Rocky Road, we replace the almonds for a graham cracker, Oreo cookie, marshmallow bark that we make and we incorporate Nutella spread. Our most popular flavor is blueberry cheesecake. During the holidays, customers can enjoy flavors like Coquito, Bourbon Pecan, and Peppermint Bark made with real mint. Our menu is chef-driven and inspired by our neighborhood and our cultural heritage, which includes the Caribbean, the Midwest, and Harlem.

We’re not just an ice cream shop. If you visit our shops, you’ll see hand-painted portraits of community leaders – it’s like having a gallery that celebrates local heroes while you enjoy your ice cream. We organize free and some fee-based programs throughout the year for our neighbors to be able to get to know each other better. Our longest running program is our New Mom’s Group for moms with babies 0-3 months old to meet weekly and discuss all of the things that are running through your mind when you’re surviving the fourth trimester. We organize a First Saturday Art Class that is led by local artists and teaching artists, among other programs.

The recognition we’ve received – from the Today Show to the New York Times – is wonderful, but what really matters is seeing familiar faces return day after day, watching children grow up visiting our shops, and knowing we’re building something meaningful for our community. We recently received the 2023 StarChefs Rising Star Community Award, which really validated our approach to business: creating a safe space to be while serving some of the city’s finest ice cream. At Sugar Hill Creamery, we’re creating more than just ice cream – we’re creating a legacy of community, culture, and sweet moments shared between neighbors.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Our journey started back in 2016, before we even had our brick-and-mortar location. In addition to securing financing to open the first store, we also launched a Kickstarter campaign, which became our first platform for storytelling. We would share updates about our progress under our campaign updates, and these stories naturally flowed into our Instagram presence.

While there were multiple platforms available, we chose to focus primarily on Instagram as our main channel of communication. Our approach was simple but effective – we treated our social media like a conversation and bulletin board, bringing people along on our journey of building the business. This transparency helped us create what I like to call “Stans” in our brand, people who’ve been with us since day one.

For those just starting out, I’d offer a few tips:

First, pick one channel and dedicate yourself to it fully. Right now, TikTok is probably the easiest platform to grow an audience. Don’t feel pressured to be everywhere at once.

Second, focus on storytelling. If you’re camera shy, that’s perfectly fine. You can tell your story through voiceovers, behind-the-scenes process videos, or footage of daily operations – whether it’s fulfilling orders or searching for the perfect store location.

Third – and this is crucial – be consistent. I like to think of social media accounts as being similar to a sourdough starter or kombucha culture – they need regular feeding to grow! Posting sporadically won’t help build your audience. Whether it’s daily, a few times a week, or even just once a week at a consistent time, find a rhythm you can maintain.

Remember, you don’t have to show your face if you’re not comfortable with that. It could be your voice, your hands, or text over video of the back of your car as you’re moving supplies around. What matters is sharing authentic glimpses into your journey and building that connection with your audience.

This approach has worked well for us at Sugar Hill Creamery, allowing us to build a genuine community both online and in our physical spaces. The key is to let people in on the process, help them appreciate what goes into your work, and stay consistent with your sharing.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

It really comes down to some fundamental principles that might sound simple, but they’re absolutely crucial.

First and foremost, you need to create something that people genuinely want and need – and it has to be good. In our case, that means crafting high-quality ice cream that you can’t find everywhere. But, having a great product is just the starting point.

Exceptional customer service paired with a consistently excellent product is truly the way to build your clientele. Word of mouth is the best marketing tool you could ask for, and we’ve found that ice cream actually tastes better when it’s served with a genuine smile and friendly conversation.

I’ll be honest – I don’t necessarily believe that “the customer is always right.” However, I deeply appreciate that customers choose to spend their money with us when they could go anywhere else. That’s why we focus so much on ensuring every visitor has a great experience. When someone walks into Sugar Hill Creamery, they’re not just buying ice cream; they’re helping our business exist, they are the reason we’re able to pay our employees.

This approach has created a ripple effect – satisfied customers become ambassadors for our brand, telling their friends and family about not just our ice cream, but about the whole experience of visiting our shops. And that authentic, word-of-mouth growth has been invaluable as we grow our brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sugarhillcreamery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarhillicecream/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sugarhillicecream/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sugarhillicecream

Image Credits

Personal Photo upload credit to Nigil Crawford.
Work photos of cakes and ice cream credit to Evi Abeler.