Magnum Ice Cream, A Favorite Among Meatpacking Instagrammers, Shut Down By City

MEATPACKING DISTRICT, NY — A Meatpacking District Instagramming hotspot was briefly shuttered after inspectors found workers had no way to wash their hands.

Magnum Ice Cream — located on 875 Washington St. near West 14th Street — was cited by the city for a lack of potable water and having no adequate hand washing facilities or soap, among other violations, according to a July 13 inspection report.

Update: A representative for Magnum told Patch that the pop up reopened and cited a "minor water supply issue" as the reason for the failed inspection. A city Health Department spokesman told Patch that Magnum reopened Monday.

The pop up, summer-only location is frequented by social media influencers seeking to create the most ridiculous-looking ice cream bar in the never-ending search for likes — clean water be damned.

Magnum Ice Cream's main draw: The "create your own Magnum Ice Cream Bar" station which allegedly featured more than 200,000 combinations and toppings such as gold flakes, rose petals, sea salt, chocolate covered sunflower seeds and other things that ruin perfectly good ice cream.

"From a sprinkling of rose petals to dustings of Himalayan sea salt, how would you decorate your dream Magnum?" asks the posh ice creamery's website.

The customizable ice cream concept took off in 2016 when Magnum opened its first New York City pop up in SoHo. The 2017 pop up opened in early June and is supposed to close sometime in late September, according to Magnum's website.

In total the Magnum pop up tallied 97 violation points, well over the 28 point cutoff needed to score a dreaded "C." The Health Department generally opts to close restaurants after an inspection if it deems a violation a "public health hazard" that can not be corrected before an inspection ends or for "serious and persistent violations," according to its grading methodology.

A Health Department spokesman did not immediately respond to Patch's request for more information and a call to Magnum was unanswered.

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