A Greenville ice cream shop that was once called one of the best in America has closed its business at a Greenville County shopping mall.Molly & Myles Ice Cream, on North Pleasantburg Drive in the Cherrydale Point shopping mall, opened in 2018, its owner Nicole O'Brien told WYFF4.com.In 2019, the ice cream parlor and cake shop, named after O'Brien's two children, was featured in an article on Today.com as one of the "absolute best ice cream shops in America.""The chef-driven establishment from Greenville's self-proclaimed 'weirdest family' has been described as 'if Willy Wonka was tossed in a tornado with the Avengers on a Star Wars movie set,'" the article said about her and her husband, Steve, who was also co-owner.MORE HEADLINESWatch the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial Trump to hold first public 2024 campaign event in SC this weekend This week's Golden Apple winner combines two loves: teaching and artDespite the positive review and an initial strong business, O'Brien explained the reasons behind the decision to close that location."We're closing for several reasons," O'Brien said. "First, my husband died in August," she said, calling the cause an unexpected health issue. "That was obviously really hard," she said.The second reason O'Brien gave was the lease was up on the location. "It seemed like a good time to end things there," she said.Also factoring into the decision, she said, was the downturn of business after the COVID-19 pandemic."We were doing great before COVID hit," O'Brien said.They were doing so well, in fact, they opened a second Greenville location, at 2123 Augusta Street, in 2020 — "right before the start of the pandemic," O'Brien said.She said they never closed either location, staying open for to-go orders and curbside pickup and paying staff "through the whole thing."They fully reopened with high hopes, but business at the Cherrydale location never got back to what it was before, O'Brien said.She cited the closing of other businesses at Cherrydale Point and the lack of traffic as contributing factors."We still have the (ice cream) truck and other location," O'Brien said, making sure to stress that she was still in the ice cream business, just downsizing.She also spoke with excitement about the restaurant Windy City Burgers, which she owns with a partner.The Chicago native opened the burger joint on Coffee Street in downtown Greenville in 2022 and called business there "amazing."Starting Feb. 8, the restaurant, which had previously only been open for dinner, will open for lunch."We're excited for what comes next," O'Brien said.An online auction of the restaurant equipment from the closing Molly and Myles location is underway and includes tables, chairs and "fun memorabilia and figurines" used to decorate the store.Don't forget to:Download the WYFF News 4 app to get up-to-date alerts, weather forecasts and more.