The sweet taste of Italy is coming to West Chester.
Vincenzo and Julianne Tettamanti are hard at work as they plan to open Gemelli Gelato in mid-September. Their new cafe, which is under construction at 12 W. Market St., will feature Vincenzo’s gelato, sorbets, Italian pastries, coffees and espresso.
“We want this to be a place to sit back and relax, a place where you can take your time, Italian style,” Julianne said. The cafe will have bar-height seating along the front window and hightop seating along the wall. Toward the back will be additional lounge seating. A small private room will be available for functions.
To prepare for the opening of Gemelli, Vincenzo studied at Gelato University in Bologna, Italy. In addition to taking the three-week course, he spent time with gelato makers in New York and in his hometown of Ferrara, Italy. His hometown gelato expert even provided Vincenzo with some favorite recipes to bring to West Chester.
“In Italy, there’s gelato on every corner,” Vincenzo said. “I want to bring as much of real Italy as possible.”
“Vincenzo’s grandparents eat gelato every day at five o’clock during the summer,” Julianne said with a smile.
“In Italy, they say a gelateria is judged on their pistachio gelato and on their lemon sorbet,” Vincenzo said. Gemelli will serve a variety of gelati such as dark chocolate and milk chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut and even tiramisu. Julianne’s favorite gelato is the mascarpone and nutella. “It’s so decadent,” she said.
“We will be using local milk and cream from Lancaster and nuts for certain gelati will be ground on site,” Vincenzo explained. They will also be offering a gelato sandwich (gelato in between two brioche buns) and will make a variety of sorbets, one of which is raspberry with lemon zest.
Gemelli will also offer other desserts such as cookies and tiramisu, along with a dark chocolate cake that is often found in Ferrara, Italy. “But we’re a cafe, not a bakery,” Julianne clarified. “We’ll have sweet treats and we’re making them from scratch.”
Vincenzo and Julianne met when Julianne was studying in Milan. Vincenzo followed her back to America in 2009 and they married. The couple lives in Media, but loves the dining scene in West Chester. “The past few years, we’ve come out to eat here a lot,” Julianne said.
Gemelli has a Facebook page that you definitely want to follow. Vincenzo will be announcing details of a contest soon where three people will win gelato for life. Like the Facebook page and stay tuned for details on their grand opening, coming soon.
Gelato photo credit: Gemelli; storefront photos credited to Jim Breslin.
