gelazzi shutters
Heights gelato shop serves last scoop — but it's not gone forever
The summer heat may be at full blast, but Heights residents have one fewer option for getting sweet relief. Gelazzi has closed, owner Louie Comella tells CultureMap.
As Comella explains, he’s begun an increasingly successful career in the TV and movie business. Since he remains the only person who knows Gelazzi’s recipes, he found himself in the unusual — not to mention expensive — situation of having to fly back to Houston from a film set in Vancouver just to make gelato.
“Logistically speaking, pretend you’re on a set with Owen Wilson, I get a call, and I’ve got to go make gelato,” Comella says. “It was crazy. I did it for as long as I could, but I don’t want to compromise the quality.”
While the closure means people will have to get their gelato fix elsewhere — nearby ice cream and gelato options include Cloud 10, Sweet Bribery, and Dolce Neve — Comella says Gelazzi isn’t gone for good.
“I own a couple of other properties in The Heights,” he says. “We’re going to move it online in the next six months. We may have a retail location at one of the bars and restaurants [that are located in a property he owns].”
That’s good news. The cafe won a lot of fans during its five-year run. It still maintains an admirable 4.5 stars on Yelp.
“The labor of love, I can’t do it, and I can’t give the recipes away,” Comella says. “They’ve been around since 1953. They’re good ones.”
