After 30 years in northern New Jersey, Gelotti Ice Cream comes to Montclair.
Gelotti Ice Cream has been around for decades. It is one of the oldest, most beloved homemade ice cream shops in the Northern New Jersey area. A summertime oasis since 1984, the popular Paterson storefront expanded to Caldwell in 2001. Since then, it has served ice cream, Italian ice, gelato and yogurt to countless New Jersey families. After 30 years in business, the owners of Gelotti have finally established the Montclair location ten years in the making. In February, Gelotti opened their doors at 571 Bloomfield Ave.
Co-owner of Gelotti Ice Cream Mike Guerriero stated that their newest storefront has been a long time coming. “I’ve been working with Gelotti since 2006 and since then, we’ve always wanted to open in Montclair,” said Guerriero. “We really admire the food presence and cultural diversity. Montclair was a stage we wanted to be on and opening a shop here was the chance to do new things with our flavors. It look years to find the perfect location in town. Since, we’ve been developing a lot of new flavors and products designed to fit with local tastes.”
Finally, Montclair residents can find a cool retreat amongst the delicious homemade flavors on Bloomfield Ave. Although the store began with simple flavors like vanilla and chocolate, it has grown to offer an extensive list of exotic choices. Veteran crowd pleasers like butter pecan, cherry vanilla and chocolate chip are always available alongside new hits like red velvet, peanut butter swirl and s’mores. A haven for any sweet-tooth, Gelotti aspires to carry a flavor for everyone.
Guerriero insists that it is important that Gelotti’s menu accurately depicts their clientele. According to him, new ideas come from the community. “We’ll try to make anything for our guests,” said Guerriero. “In Caldwell, there is a large Caribbean influence so we started offering flavors like grape-nut, which is a popular choice. We also started offering more rum raisin.”
For Montclair, the assimilating process is a little different. The co-owner and his team have had to pull new tricks from their sleeves in order to win Montclair’s heart. “Vegan flavors are something that was completely designed for Montclair,” said Guerriero. “There is a large vegan community in this town looking for something delicious that makes them feel whole the way ice cream does. In the past, we also tried more sorbet for our lactose-intolerant customers.”
Gelotti Ice Cream actively protects their vegan clients as they’ll use almond milk instead of regular milk and cream of coco instead of heavy cream. The store is constantly in the process of making new batches of their delectable summer delights so locals can expect to find a new flavor or two every time they come in.
For this particular shop, creating bonds over ice cream doesn’t stop in the store. In the past, Gelotti has been a big community player in both Paterson and Caldwell. In a Gelotti initiative called Cones for Cops, the ice cream store has given out free ice cream to all first responders. With intentions of being just as supportive to the town of Montclair, Gelotti will make their splash at the National Night Out on Aug. 2. The National Night Out is a community based initiative dedicated to strengthening police-community partnerships to make our home a safer place. This year, it will take place at the beginning of August on South Park Street.
“With all of the recent events that have happened in the country, we decided to reach out to the police departments in our surrounding areas,” stated Guerriero. “We’re adding to National Night Out [with] our initiative called Cones for the Cops. We want to entice the whole town to come out and identify with one another. In Caldwell, there is a big college environment and it’s important for us to encourage that connection. Our business model is aimed at diversity; we cater to different neighborhoods and we hate to see some of the terrible things that go on. Our appearance at National Night Out is our way of appreciating our police officers and the community over an ice cream cone.”
To taste some of the exquisite flavors at Gelotti Ice Cream, pop in at 571 Bloomfield Ave. To order a cake or learn more, visit their official website at gelottiessex.com.
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