Hot Chocolate and Smores Bar Keeping Winter Warm for Park Slopers

There are plenty of ways to keep warm this winter, but some of the tastiest options are at the new seasonal hot chocolate and smores, bar Winter Warmers.

Taking over the People's Pops spot for the winter, the shop was opened in October by friends Eric Holstein and Madison Gouzie. The two college friends were hoping to create a space to hang out with friends and stay warm as a sort of winter ice cream shop, as Gouzie puts it.

"We found a spot in Williamsburg, looked at a spot in Carroll Gardens and then we found this space that was Peoples Pops, which has a great rapport with the community," he said. "We found that out because the first month we had a bunch of people coming in asking, 'where are the popsicles?'."

While the popsicles will return in the summer, Winter Warmers is providing different types of hot cocoa and smores options, apple cider and more to keep this winter warm and cozy.

"We've had everything from groups of high school kids to a lot of parents with their kids, our group of friends and we even had a private event for a new dating website," Gouzie said, "so it’s been all ages that have been interested."

This week Park Slope saw its first snow, which helped bring even more interested in the new shop.

"We have a great after school crowd, great lunch crowd, and Berkley Carroll comes through all the time," he said. "For us it’s what we hoped for. The neighborhood's embraced us."

Winter Warmers is open daily from noon to 9:30 p.m. and will be open until March.