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Haagen-Dazs Dealers Don't Play
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 13, 2011
Modified Jan 13, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 13, 2011
Modified Jan 13, 2011
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It's not just ice cream truck drivers who conduct their business like they're in warring drug cartels. The NY Post has the scoop on an "ice cream cold war" between two distributors fighting over the right to stock the same freezer in a Bed-Stuy bodega. It's tough out there for a frozen dessert dealer! On Monday Homero Jaramillo was in the midst of selling some Haagen-Dazs to bodega owner José Zorrilla when the store's regular ice cream supplier, Steven Perez, arrived on the scene. What ensued makes us wonder if the seemingly innocent ice cream dripping down our cones is tainted with blood and suffering.
"Steve came in and started screaming 'I'll kill you! I'll kill you!' to Homero," Zorrilla tells the Post. "Steve threatened to attack Homero with his work knife. He kept saying, 'I'll kill you! I'll kill you!' Me and my brother had to wrap our arms around him and hold him. I said 'Stop, stop!' " Homero then ran out of the store but allegedly returned with a baseball bat. "He came back and hit Steve on his back. It was self-defense," Zorrilla said in a statement that we're pretty sure contradicts the definition of self-defense.
Perez, who says he pays $150 a month to stock a freezer in the bodega, was arrested and charged with menacing and harassment. Jaramillo was charged with assault, menacing and harassment. Perez tells the tabloid, "He was trying to get into my store to get sales off of my freezer. I saw him making the sale, so I confronted him about it." With a box-cutter. But that's nothing—Jaramillo's lucky he didn't get the brain freeze.
Tagged
bed stuy
blood and jerry's
brooklyn
ice cream
ice cream wars
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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