We tried Ample Hills Creamery, the New York ice cream shop that's raising millions to become the next Ben & Jerry's

Business Insider - Kaitlin HattonOoey Gooey Butter Cake was by far my favorite.Ample Hills Creamery has become a favorite among New York City-based ice cream aficionados thanks in part to its rich tastes and zany flavors.

The local chain was born in Brooklyn in the spring of 2011 to budding entrepreneurs Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscana. The couple began creating ice cream and baked goods from scratch, spending hours a day churning out their original flavors. Ample Hills has grown rapidly, expanding to nine locations in New York City, one in Disney World and now, a new store coming to New Jersey.

Smith said he has big plans for the future, including growing the business to be on the level of Starbucks or Ben & Jerry's. He told Bloomberg that he plans to complete a Series A funding round this fall, and is hoping to raise $8 million. Plans for a massive ice cream factory are also in the works.

"We want our brick-and-mortar shops to be community hubs in the way that [Starbucks executive chairman] Howard Schultz transformed the idea of coffee shops into a destination. Where people go to pass the time ... we want to do that with ice cream," he said.

I was curious to see if Ample Hills Creamery would live up to the hype, so I visited two locations within New York City.