You are reading

Asian-inspired ice cream shop Soft Swerve opens in Long Island City food hall

Soft Swerve recently expanded to Long Island City, offering Asian-inspired flavors like Ube (pictured), matcha, Thai tea, black sesame, and more. Photo credit: Soft Swerve.

May 20, 2025 By Jessica Militello

The unofficial start of summer just got a little sweeter—and cooler—with the grand opening of Soft Swerve in Long Island City.

The popular New York-based, Asian-inspired ice cream brand officially opened its doors on Friday, May 16, inside the JACX&CO food hall, located at 24-17 Jackson Ave.

To celebrate, Soft Swerve handed out free samples of their signature soft serve and hosted merchandise giveaways, including tote bags, stickers, and keychains featuring original artwork by Dhensel Doodles, created exclusively for the brand.

Delicious soft serve from Soft Swerve, which just opened in JACX and CO. Food Hall in LIC. Photo credit: Soft Swerve.

“We’ve wanted to be a part of the culturally rich community of Long Island City for some time now and we couldn’t have asked for a better fit for our brand than in the beautiful space located inside JACX&CO food hall,” said Michael Tsang, one of the co-founders of Soft Swerve.  “We look forward to serving the neighborhood.”

Tsang and his close friend and co-founder, Jason Liu, were both born and raised in Chinatown, where they noticed a void in the area for tasty and unique Asian-inspired ice cream flavors, which inspired them to open their first location on Allen St. in 2017.

The ice cream shop became widely popular in soft serve and hard scoop for flavors like matcha, Thai tea, black sesame, and ube, made daily with purple yams, to name just a few of their frozen tasty treats. Since then, the business partners have expanded to add locations in the Lower East Side, Kips Bay, Downtown Brooklyn, and Flushing, before expanding to another Queens neighborhood with their newest shop in Western Queens.

The new space is a welcome addition to the popular food hall, which features an array of diverse cuisine, including Alidoro, Sushi Nikko, Mexology, and Le Thai, to name a few of the delicious restaurants and dining choices available at the space.

Photo credit: Soft Swerve.

“We are delighted to welcome Soft Swerve to the innovative lineup of food and beverage purveyors we have assembled at JACX&CO,” said Reed Zukerman, Tishman Speyer’s senior director, the company that owns the food hall. “The culinary experiences we’ve curated at JACX&CO have positioned it as Long Island City’s most exciting dining, bar, and events destination.”

JACX and CO. Food Hall is home to an array of diverse and delicious cuisine. Photo courtesy of Tishman Speyer.

The ice cream shop features options for hard or soft serve in cups or cones, milkshakes, soft serve floats, and sundaes, as well as fun toppings, like fruity pebbles, chocolate, and rainbow sprinkles, strawberries, Lucky Charms marshmallows, and more.

The shop also has happy hour Monday through Friday from 2-3 p.m., featuring 15% off any order. The newest venue offers visitors the option to dine in for a fun ice cream meet-up, delivery, or take it to go, making it the perfect treat to enjoy on any day. 

The new ice cream shop offers soft serve and hard scoop in a variety of Asian-inspired flavors. Photo credit: Soft Swerve.

The shop is presently open during the food hall’s regular opening hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. With so many fun flavors and delicious treats, the space is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Advocates urge passage of New York for All Act as Assembly session nears end

Jun. 16, 2025 By Jimmy Robles

As the State Senate concluded its legislative session on Thursday, immigrant rights advocates renewed calls for lawmakers to pass the New York for All Act before the Assembly adjourns on Tuesday, June 17. The proposed legislation, along with several other immigration-related bills, remains pending as the clock winds down on this year’s session.

Queens gun buyback takes 74 firearms off streets, including ghost guns and assault weapons: DA

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday that 74 firearms were taken off the streets at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica during a gun buyback event on Saturday, June 14. The weapons were exchanged for bank cards pre-loaded with cash, with no identification required and no questions asked.

“Gun buybacks serve as a critical tool for reducing gun violence and promoting public safety within our communities,” Katz said. “This Saturday, working with the NYPD and clergy leaders in Jamaica, we received 74 surrendered guns — including five automatic weapons. As a result, these firearms will not be used to cause heartache and tragedy.”

Queens Distance Runners hosts second annual track meet at St. John’s University, spotlighting Olympian and local talent

Jun. 16, 2025 By Paulina Albarracin

Dozens of runners gathered at the DaSilva Field Track in St. John’s University for the second annual track meet last month. Hosted by Queens Distance Runners (QDR), a grassroots running organization, the sporting competition welcomed sprinters and distance runners of all skill levels to test their abilities, vying for the podium in track events from 100 meters to 5,000 meters.