A founder of Big Gay Ice Cream is suing his partner, accusing him of mismanagement and collecting government pandemic loans

Lakshmi Varanasi
·2 min read
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  • Big Gay Ice Cream cofounder Doug Quint sued partner Jon Chapski, The New York Times reported.

  • Quint is seeking at least $4 million in damages from Chapski.

  • The soft serve chain once had several locations and now has one store left, per the Times.

Doug Quint, the cofounder of soft-serve chain Big Gay Ice Cream, is suing his partner Jon Chapski for mismanaging the company's finances and fraudulently collecting government loans.

In a lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court on August 25, Quint accused Chapski of neglecting to pay rent at Big Gay Ice Cream locations resulting in at least four eviction proceedings. The suit was first reported by The New York Times.

Chapski also allegedly failed to pay sales tax at the company's Philadelphia location, and obtained pandemic relief funds from the Small Business Administration that were neither put towards rent nor other business expenses, per the suit.

The suit also accused Chapski of "willfully ignoring" Quint's decisions around the creative direction of the company. It claimed that Chapski refused to "roll out new ice cream flavors" that Quint had created, and ignored other suggestions related to the brand's expansion.

Quint is seeking at least $4 million in damages, per the suit.

While Quint and Chapski did not immediately respond to Insider's request for a comment, a representative for Chapski told the Times on Tuesday that Chapski was reviewing the suit with his lawyer and would respond "when appropriate."

Meanwhile, Quint — who now works at a Walgreens pharmacy in Maine, according to the Times — told the publication: "I thought Big Gay was my life's work, the thing I was meant to do."

His cofounder, Bryan Petroff, now works in human resources for a restaurant chain, the Times reported.

Big Gay Ice Cream, which started out as an ice cream truck in 2009, had multiple locations across New York and Philadelphia at its height.

The chain won fans for its cheekily-named flavors such as Salty Pimp — a vanilla ice cream cone with dulce de leche that was lightly salted and dipped in chocolate — and its inclusive marketing that captured the attention of mainstream consumers.

Big Gay Ice Cream pints were even sold in major grocery chains and drugstores.

Now, it has just one location on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The store is operated by neighborhood restaurateur, Jeremy Wladis, who was given permission to use the brand and recipes on Friday, according to the New York Times.

Chapski also "repeatedly assured" Wladis that the founders were no longer involved, per the report.

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