Earlier this month, the city hit 100F, recording its first triple-digit day since 2012. This summer has been special for New York City, from Pride Month to the Knicks win and now the World Cup. Now, Inwood cools down on these hot summer nights with Lost Borough Ice Cream, which opened just in time for National Ice Cream Month and offers an array of unique flavors.
Patrick Cruz and Ka-wana Jefferson (who also created Brooklyn’s very own Sweet Catch BK) run and operate Lost Borough Ice Cream. In 2019, Cruz visited Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Chicago. He simply walked in as a customer and left feeling inspired: “You could smell a waffle cone being made; you saw all these smiling faces, and to me it was like happiness,” Cruz said. “I want to do this back in Yonkers, where I’m from… so that’s where Lost Borough came from,” he continued.
Lost Borough’s flagship store opened in 2022 in downtown Yonkers and now boasts over 40,000 Instagram followers. Cruz makes it clear that success didn’t happen overnight; at first, he faced immense difficulties. In his mind, he had two choices: succeed or drop dead. “I did pass out once,” he laughed, but he wasn’t dead.
In the beginning, it was just him; he was the sole employee. He made the banana pudding, scooped the ice cream, and baked all the cookies. “I have a degree in food network,” he joked, “I had to learn how to do all of that. I had an ice cream maker, a small one, where you can make a pint at a time.” His craftsmanship paid off; now they are opening their second store in less than five years.
Their ice cream and handmade cookies are described as artisanal cultural experiences, and trust me, they’re nothing short of that! I got to try their vanilla ice cream, and I was mindblown; the flavor profile is unlike any vanilla I’ve ever had, or anything you’d get here in the States. “We get the vanilla extract from the Dominican Republic,” he told amNewYork. As someone of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, Cruz wanted to do something different and incorporate his culture into his recipes.
Because New York is so diverse, this shop definitely represents the neighborhood well. Cruz credits the shop’s viral success to his other Latin flavors, like bisculo. When an employee called it his favorite flavor in a video, it went viral and everything changed. “My friends were calling me like, do you have this flavor? I’m like, it’s always been there, you know, but now all of a sudden it blew up and became very popular.”
I can imagine a flavor like this can be really nostalgic, like a trip to the motherland for some, but for other New Yorkers it’s ice cream like you’ve never had it before. Cruz has drawn other inspirations from his time abroad, like the Japanese-inspired Soakara-flavored ice cream, the Rose flavor that’s pretty common in Europe, and the Brigadero flavor, a chocolate truffle covered in chocolate sprinkles inspired by his time in Brazil.
Cruz and Jefferson combine culinary innovation with business expertise to create a hit. Cruz plans to open a Brooklyn location next! But for now, check out the newest location in Inwood at 4791 Broadway or follow @lostboroughicecream on Instagram for updates.
Be on the lookout for their Inwood community day on July 26. there will be fun surprises, games, and giveaways!
