Everett gelato shop owners spread the love of the Italian dessert

Published 3:00 pm Thursday, September 9, 2010

Life’s short … eat dessert first.

The motto of Gelato’icious, an Italian ice cream and dessert shop in south Everett, sounds even better as summer heats up.

Open less than two months, the gelato shop already has a following of loyal customers like Angel Leppert, who stops in a few times each week. A mail carrier, Leppert’s route brings her near Gelato’icious, which is in the same complex as the Grass Roots Outdoor store on Everett Mall Way.

“The gelato is amazing,” Leppert said.

That’s how Gelato’icious’ Lynn Remsing felt about gelato the first time she tried it more than a decade ago.

“I loved it. I had never tasted anything like it before,” Remsing said.

Ever since that first bite, Remsing has wanted to open her own gelato shop. But the timing wasn’t right until earlier this year, when her husband, Rick, was laid off his construction job. The couple co-own Gelato’icious with their daughter, Kammi Davis, and her husband, Tom.

“Everything just fell into place,” said Kammi Davis.

Working together, the family was able to pull together their business in about two months and opened Gelato’icious on June 28. The family decided against making its own gelato, leaving that task to the well-established Gelatiamo in Seattle. Gelato’icious offers 18 flavors of gelato and sorbetto, a dairy-free, fruit-flavored Italian sorbet. Although the flavors rotate, the shop usually keeps chocolate, tiramisu and raspberry or strawberry in stock. Pistachio is another shop favorite.

In addition to gelato, Gelato’icious sells Italian desserts, including ricotta-filled cannolis, and Caffe D’arte coffee.

“Our cannolis are starting to fly out the door,” Davis said.

If the business does well, then Davis, who is looking to leave the teaching profession, will take over the day-to-day operations from her parents in a few years. In the meantime, the Davises are spending their summer teaching customers about gelato.

“The question I always get asked is ‘What’s the difference between gelato and ice cream?’” Tom Davis said.

The answer: Gelato is churned more slowly and has less fat than ice cream.

Gelato’icous is seeing its customer base grow. Banks and real estate agencies in the area have begun placing orders in advance, Davis said. Just as importantly, the gelato shop sees quite a few of repeat customers, like Leppert.

Leppert takes the Gelato’cious motto seriously, often ordering for lunch a gelato sandwich: two scoops of gelato between fresh-baked brioche. The staff have recommended gelato flavor combinations like peanut butter and blackberry.

“They’re fun,” Leppert said, of the shop’s owners. “It’s kind of like home.”

Gelato’icious

500 SE Everett Mall Way, Suite A6, Everett. 425-322-5267

Closed Mondays