The Roxy has a new super cute ice cream stand out front, offering scoops of gelato in cups or giant, colorful waffle cones (at Tribeca prices, but hey, that’s how it goes). The product is actually Il Laboratorio del Gelato, a small-batch ice cream maker based on Ludlow Street with a second retail store at 10th and University and a great story behind it. Jon Snyder was just this side of boy when he founded Ciao Bella Gelato Company in Soho. He had come from a long line of Carvel franchisees, and as a college student, set out to discover his Italian ice cream roots. He returned to the city in 1984 and started making gelato; five years later he sold the company.

Il Laboratorio is his first project after his non-compete ran out, started in 2002 on Orchard Street. They are up to 300 flavors for the Roxy to choose from for the stand. (For extra credit, Alex Witchel has a fun profile of Snyder from when he opened the company (not sure she could get away with calling a source a “babe” in this era, so enjoy it here.))