By Cynthia Romero
Volume 80, Number 9 | July 29 – August 4, 2010
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933
A new pop shop is helping customers lick the heat
Those looking for a cool and organic way to stave off the summer heat might want to pay a visit to People’s Pops, an organic pop shop that specializes in handmade frozen treats and shave ice made from fresh fruit.
A big ice block rested on the counter, which is made completely out of popsicle sticks, as Nathalie Jordi shaved the ice in front of the customers. What separates these frozen treats from others are that they are made from local fresh fruit and their flavors. No “out-of-the-box” flavors here; Jordi insisted that the flavors are constantly changing.
“We really don’t have a ‘best seller’ here because our customers seem to like them all,” she said. “Some of our flavors are apricot-chamomile, raspberry-basil and strawberry-rhubarb.”
Jordi, who is a part owner of the business, said the idea to begin making frozen pops came when a friend invited her to sell at the South St. Seaport Amsterdam Market. From there, Jordi and two other friends began selling at Brooklyn Flea and Battery Park. Now, the People’s Pops shop has settled nicely into Chelsea Market.
“It literally just happened one day,” she said. “I was thinking of what I could make and I love fruit, so I thought making pops would be a good idea.”
Over the winter break, Jordi and her friends and business partners, Joel Horowitz and David Carrell, decided to “make it official.”
“We just felt like it really could be something we would want to look more into and make an actual business,” she said.
Linda Weller, an Upper West Side resident, loves the pops and pays weekly visits to the shop.
“I always come to the Chelsea Market to do all my shopping,” she said. “And then one day, I saw the sign with the chalk-colored pops and it got my attention, so I tried a pop and I fell in love. I don’t do manicures or pedicures — I do pops.”
Pop after pop, people kept coming back, and Jordi said they always sold out.
“We started selling at the Brooklyn Flea when you could just go in and sell and now it’s completely different, so we wanted to look for a place with a temporary lease and the Chelsea Market gave us a chance,” she said. “We’re still at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays, though.”
At $2.50 for shave ice and $3 to $3.50 for pops, both treats are a deliciously perfect way to escape the city’s heat.
People’s Pops is located at Chelsea Market, at 425 W. 15th St., and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.peoplespops.com .
