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Member Spotlight: Emack & Bolio’s

When you first meet Orah LeHockey, owner of Emack & Bolio’s in Albany, you understand immediately that ice cream is more than a dessert to her,  it’s a vehicle for joy. Since she took ownership of the long‑loved shop in January 2023, she has poured her energy into preserving its playful spirit while adding touches of her own. The Albany location, which has been part of the community since 2008, continues to offer its signature lineup of hard ice cream, chocolates, smoothies, pastries, and espresso drinks under a licensing agreement with the Boston‑born brand founded in 1975. 
 
But Orah’s story with Emack & Bolio’s didn’t begin as a business decision — it started as a feeling. As she describes it, the moment you walk through the door, the scent of sweets and the bright colors create a kind of instant happiness. It’s that spark that made her fall in love with the shop long before she owned it, and it’s the same spark she works every day to share with the Capital Region. 
 
Over the past year, she has refreshed the Albany location inside and out, updating the interior and expanding offerings while nurturing the sense of wonder that customers have cherished for nearly two decades. Regulars come for their favorite flavors, but they stay for the atmosphere,  a place where families gather, where children choose cones bigger than their hands, and where, famously, several couples have met and later returned to share that they eventually married. 
 
Summers at Emack & Bolio’s are famously lively. The Albany shop burns through tubs of ice cream, receiving large weekly deliveries to keep pace with the crowds, and their ice cream truck has become a sought‑after guest at weddings, festivals, and neighborhood events. Demand has grown so quickly that Orah hopes to add a second truck and even an ice cream cart in the future – more ways to bring the experience beyond the shop’s four walls. 
 
At the heart of it all is community. What Orah loves most about living and working here is simple: the people she serves, and the happiness she gets to share with them every day, one scoop at a time.