While working at Cold Stone Creamery, Dylan Lemay went viral on TikTok. Now, he’s launched an ice cream shop of his own.
Lemay is the man behind Catch’n Ice Cream, which opened its first location in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood on July 29. Guests who visit the business can try Lemay’s favorite flavors, and as the shop’s name implies, it features an interactive element. After each order, the purchased ice cream is rolled up into a ball so that it can be tossed toward the buyer’s cup. Lemay, who mastered that trick during his years working at Cold Stone, delivered some accurate throws during the grand opening of Catch’n.
@dylanlemay #icecreamcake ♬ original sound – Dylan Lemay
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Since Lemay is a YouTube and TikTok star — he has millions of followers on both of those platforms — his shop will have a significant social media presence. His fans will get the chance to help him develop new flavors, and he will use his channel to advertise his brick-and-mortar store location. In the days leading up to Catch’n’s first day of operation, Lemay uploaded vlogs in order to share his experience as a first-time shop owner.
It’s not just Lemay who will share stories from the Catch’n counter. He believes his customers have the ability to boost his business as well, thanks to the unique nature of the experience. “Everyone is just constantly recording things and posting them to the internet,” Lemay told Grub Street. “If someone walks into the store, they’re going to want to record one of my employees throwing around some ice cream, and they’ll upload it to YouTube Shorts or whatever other platform they’re on, and it just creates more and more ways for people to connect with each other.”
For his first Catch’n location, Lemay has given himself quite the challenge. Manhattan is a hypercompetitive ice cream market, but Michigan-born Lemay wanted to make sure his retail space was close to his home (he currently lives in New York), his fans, and other locations that will attract sweet-toothed consumers. Lemay told Tubefilter that the Catch’n store is right around the corner from the Museum of Ice Cream. “NYC feels like it could be the ice cream capital of the world with how hot it gets during the summer,” Lemay said, “and knowing how many people live here and how many more visit each year, NYC just made the most sense for us to set up shop.”
Lemay noted that Catch’n “has been pretty consistent in terms of foot traffic since we opened on July 29.” If you stop by the store, you may need to wait in line, but don’t fret. Once you get to the counter, you’ll receive a cold ball of ice cream to eat and a snazzy piece of content to post on your social media channels.
