Ice Cream Paradise

ADDITIONAL INFOPARADISE IN ONE FELL SCOOP

By Megan Naftali

Yakov Fuzailov, owner of Paradise Ice Cream, holding the cookie monster crunch flavor. Photo by Megan Naftali Laying out on a beach, feeling the warm sand beneath your skin and ice cream in hand is what may be viewed as paradise. Little do people know that Paradise is an ice cream parlor in Mastic Beach, Long Island, three miles away from Smith Point Park Beach and the ideal summer day.

When people walk into Paradise Ice Cream shop, they are greeted with a multitude of eye-catching colors and 51 delicious flavors. Some of the standout colors include blue from Cookie Monster Crunch, yellow from Peanut Butter Moose Tracks and a mix of red, blue and yellow from the Superman flavor.

Paradise Ice Cream has been a staple of the community for 15 years, but before it became Paradise, it was Uncle Louie G Ice Cream. The shop is also known for its delectable ice cream throughout the community. It even had one Northport native drive over 30 miles for ice cream to meet the girl of his dreams.

“I first met my girlfriend in person at Paradise Ice Cream. It’s one of those small town places [where] no matter what you are doing or where you are, you take those memories with you,” said Jacob Edwards, a Long Island resident of 25 years.

Ice cream can make people forget about their bad day and bring a smile to their faces. This is the owner of Paradise Ice Cream, Yakov Fuzailov’s favorite part about operating his shop.

“It is fate, it brought me out here and put me together with this place,” Fuzailov said. “I saw the person working behind the counter [and] I fell in love with it, with putting smiles on people’s faces and nobody walks out of here unhappy.” The ice cream comes from three different distributors, which include

Calip Dairy, Panza Ice Cream and the

Hershey Company. Fuzailov asserted he favors all the flavors which he carries and compared the experience to trying to choose a favorite child. It is evident that he holds much pride in his work and loves serving the community and meeting new people. “I’m self-made [and] everything is made with love,” Fuzailov said. “It is very hard to survive, but I see that I did something right.”

Ice cream photos by Megan Naftali