Exit Realty In, Cold Stone Out

EXIT Realty Today [8403 3rd Avenue] a full-service franchisor, specializing in residential and commercial real estate, takes over for the former Cold Stone Creamery earlier this month.  EXIT franchisee Michael Afanasyev, whose other Bay Ridge office is 547 92nd St, like many, saw the former ice cream shop idle on the market for months and decided to commit to opening another office to service the community.

(More About Cold Stone follows...)

Storefront (Courtesy of Junior D, FourSquare)

Cold Stone Creamery, the Arizona-based phenomenon swept America by storm for the better half of 2000 and once held a place near and dear to everyone's heart for about a decade.  Brooklyn Paper was the one to break the news of their dual opening back in July 2, 2005 (Atlantic Terminal opened around the same time). Although many speculated this may have spelled impending doom for all the other local ice cream shops, it was simply not meant to be.  As many here can tell you, a lot can happen in ten years. Cold Stone closed at the end of the ice cream season last year (August/September 2014).

Angela C (FourSquare)

We suspect, as the WSJ wrote back in 2008, Cold Stone (corporate), "may have acted in ways that reduced stores' profit margins." That, combined with the slow traffic, declining revenue and  lease ending, may have spelled the recipe for this stores' timely end.