There’s ice cream and then, there’s ICE CREAM, and if I were to differentiate the two, I would safely say that Emack & Bolio’s qualifies as the second. Let me tell you why.
Emack & Bolio’s is based in Boston, MA but opened a location in Albany in June 2008. Emack & Bolio’s was founded by Robert Rook, “a lawyer and a self-declared hippie who has worked closely with the homeless, Vietnam war protesters, civil and gay rights advocates, and numerous rock bands such as Aerosmith, U2, Boston, The Cars, and James Brown,” according to Wikipedia.
Apparently, Rook came up with the idea for the “hippie ice cream” years before Ben & Jerry’s made their name with it. The name itself comes from two homeless men that Rook did pro bono work for and made them kind of mascots for the concept.
In 2008, the concept came to Albany with their Outrageous Ice Cream, Candy Covered Waffle Cones, and Award Winning Smoothies. It’s one of the few ice cream places locally that’s open year round.
It’s not just delicious ice cream with a ton of flavors, the store itself is pretty cool too with funky gifts and other fun items. There’s a certain vibe that Rook was trying to create with this concept and it’s translated really well in the Albany location. The place is just fun and the ice cream delicious.
