Flushing Ice Cream Factory serves happy memories by the scoopful
Christina Seid’s life has revolved around ice cream for as long as she can remember. Her father, Philip Seid, opened the famed Chinatown Ice Cream Factory 42 years ago. As soon as Christina was tall enough to reach the counters, she jokes, she was put to work in the family business.
Now 38, she is making her father proud as she spearheads the opening of their first satellite location, the Flushing Ice Cream Factory, in a busy mini food hall on 40th Road, right underneath the Flushing Long Island Rail Road stop.
“We didn’t want to just duplicate Chinatown,” she explains of their vision. They decided against spinning off the Chinatown name because they wanted to be respectful of Flushing’s large Korean and Hispanic populations. And as such, the new store will launch exclusive flavors, inspired by popular local desserts such as misugaru, alongside the old standbys.
The Flushing expansion was a long time coming in the storied history of the brand. Philip Seid first opened the original location in 1977 at a time when Chinatown was vastly different than it is now. Inspired by the rich flavors he’d tasted growing up in Little Italy, Philip Seid wanted to create something for the Asian community, who preferred desserts to be less sugary than typical American offerings. He became a pioneer of Asian-inspired flavors like taro, sesame, durian and lychee, which are still their bestsellers today.
It’s hard for people today to picture the New York culinary landscape of yesteryear, says Christina Seid. At the time, Carvel and Häagen-Dazs were just expanding to retail stores, and flavors such as cookies and cream were considered new and exciting. “People didn’t know what green tea was,” she laughs. "We’ve been selling ice cream since before there was bubble tea in the U.S., that’s a long time," she says of all the cultural changes they’ve weathered over the years.
Along the way, the original store has become a treasured part of the community. The father-daughter duo have seen neighborhood kids grow up and introduce their favorite flavors to kids of their own.
The Seids have long rejected franchise offers, wanting to preserve the mom-and-pop feel of the original. Now, as the Asian population of New York City branches out to the surrounding boroughs, it seemed like the perfect time for the brand to evolve.
And Queens was the natural place to do so. Seid’s roots in the borough runs deep: She grew up in Little Neck and attended Cardozo High School and Queens College. Both sides of her family have lived in New York City for over a century, with her mother’s grandparents originally settling in Laurelton, Queens.
Seid is in it for the long run in Queens, and hopes this new location will become an iconic part of the neighborhood just like the original.
“It’s not about the ice cream itself. It’s about establishing memories and that’s what we want to do in Flushing. People remember those things. Our customers know us. Our staff is a reflection of us. You’re providing something really special and happy.”
