Legendary NJ Ice Cream Shop Closing; Owner: "Better to bow out"

A legendary Jersey ice cream shop is shutting down this weekend after serving-up gelato and sorbet for a number of years in a bustling community.

And "legendary" in this case refers to both the flavors coming out of this store and the attitude of the owners themselves.

Our travels today take us to Bloomfield in Essex County where APEM Creamery and Sorbetteria will be gone for good as of this Sunday.

As for why, that's just as colorful as the rainbow of creations found on their menu.

APEM was known for Jersey-oriented flavors, according to patch.com, like "Left Lane is For Passing Only," "Blabbermouth," "Cannoli Filling," and more often featuring vibrant ingredients like spicy peppers, Jersey blueberries, and corn.

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But all of that is fading away.

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Why?

Let's just say there are many reasons.

APEM is owned by partners Alex Saneski and Jennifer Ko; it was Alex to recently took to their website and he didn't hold back.

So it had to be first about moving to a bigger spot here, then expanding wider to other parts of New Jersey. The long lines are nice for financial stability and growth, but it was about a sign that people gave a shit and we weren’t just another useless business taking up space. I don’t get up at 4:00am unless it’s for a sense of duty.

To summarize things, Saneski opined about the difficulties of finding just the right location ("we were fully tapped out at the store and for us it was getting stressful with space"), their staff of college kids going back to school, not being able to find qualified replacement workers, the modern world ("all this tech shit just makes shit worse"), the media not giving them the proper coverage, and more.

So to prevent myself from having a stroke, it is better to bow out.

One last time

If you wish to visit APEM one more time, set your GPS for 870 Broad Street in Bloomfield. Sunday is their last day but once their flavors are gone, they're gone for good.

APEM Creamery and Sorbetteria in Bloomfield NJ - Photo: Google Maps