Thursday,
September 21, 2006
Gelato; Food for the Soul, Slow to Make
Inroads in US, Why?
The
ANNOTICO Report
Gelato
is similar to ice cream, although it is made with milk, not cream. The texture
is denser, and it is softer than ice cream.
"Americans
like richer, heavier. They will take something like French vanilla and throw in
chocolate. Italians aren
"We
Gelato
isn
The
Suburb
of
By Meg Dedolph
Business
Editor
Wednesday
September 20, 2006
Paul Pitaro was executive vice president of Chicago
Messenger Service.
That changed
with his latest idea and, on Aug. 19, he started selling gelato, an Italian ice
cream, from his
Gelato is similar
to ice cream, although it is made with milk, not cream. The texture is denser,
and it is softer than ice cream. Pitaro sells 18
flavors of gelato and fruit sorbet, made at the store, including chocolate
hazelnut, pistachio and mixed berry.
He and his wife,
Nancy, his sisters Mary Pitaro and Gia Cassin, his cousin, Roan Primieribozzelo,
and his children all work there, juggling shifts at the store with school and
in some cases, other jobs.
To prepare for
the opening, Primieribozzelo took courses in
During her
studies, Primieribozzelo met Palmiro
Bruschi, a member of the
Bruschi, an ambassador for the
academy, traveled to
"We felt
more confident getting a professional in here to walk us through it," Pitaro said.
Pitaro and his family spent time
persuading Bruschi that they really wanted to sell
Italian-style gelato, with few concessions to American taste buds.
"Americans
like richer, heavier," Bruschi said, with Pitaro
Pitaro wasn
But he thought
the gelato idea had some staying power. When he lived in
"You talk to
anyone who
A
Gelati isn
"The
response has been overwhelming," he said. "We haven
Gelato while undeniably popular in
"We have 350
members and there are probably 10 people who serve gelato," she said.
"We
Gelato isn
"They have
to be sold within two or three days, if they
For an ice cream
store to succeed, it takes more than a good product, she said.
"Ice cream
is not so much a food for nourishment as it is a food for the soul," she
said.
Contact Meg Dedolph at 630-416-5297 or mdedolph@scn1.com.
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