From Gelato to Pop Karma at 95 Orchard Street

il Laboratorio del Gelato is comfortable in its new digs at 180 Ludlow. Business is booming. The place is always bustling with customers, even during the coldest winter days. So it’s no surprise that the original Orchard Street location became a free agent.

Almost a year ago, the former 95 Orchard location was revived from the dead as a satellite outpost. It made sense to continue capitalizing on the crowds that flocked to the Tenement Museum during the later part of the week. The outpost reopened with somewhat limited summertime hours, but officially ended its rerun in November.  In the intervening months, the tiny storefront sat vacant, and seemed to become more of an offsite storage facility for the gelato company.

Now we are hearing word that 95 Orchard is trading treats from ice cream to popcorn. A new specialty purveyor called Pop Karma just signed a lease on the space, and is hoping the, well, karma from the Laboratory rubs off. The company is “sourcing” from organic, “responsibly grown” ingredients and popping the corn in the store proper.

Here’s the description with all the requisite artisanal buzz words intact:

We make delicious popcorn from pure, top-quality ingredients. It’s that simple. Our ingredients lists are minimal since we source the best food possible from responsible, sustainable producers. It’s real. Then we pop it in New York City to our demanding specifications.

We believe that all of our actions matter. Good food means good health. Food that is sustainably grown means happy animals and a renewable environment. Kind words and kind actions inspire a beautiful day. A lifetime of beautiful days is a work of art. Live it.

Seems more like fodder for tenement tourists. Nevertheless, Pop Karma plans to launch in early June. Just don’t let Professor Hathaway anywhere near here…