Gelato shop set to open next week on Maynard and East William in downtown Ann Arbor
A brother and sister duo from Lansing hope to bring part of their Italian culture to downtown Ann Arbor with the opening of their new business: Iorio’s Gelateria.
Iorio's — pronounced "ee-or-ee-oes" — is located at 522 E. William St. on the first floor of the Maynard House high-rise apartment building. Other tenants in the building include Campus Barber & Beauty Salon, Accu-Copy and Clothesline Cleaners.
Iorio's Gelateria is set to open next week at 522 E. William St. between Campus Barber & Beauty Salon and Accu-Copy.
Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com
“We want to be open by the Ann Arbor Art Fair, but we’ll be selling gelato in front of our space regardless of whether we can get the store open or not,” said Mary Lemmer.
She said that the space on East William, which was formerly occupied by ABG Communication, needed a lot of renovations to convert it to a gelato shop.
“It’s going to look a lot different,” she said. “The space inside is nice, and it has huge windows so that people can see in.”
The Ann Arbor Iorio’s location will be the pair’s second gelato shop after they opened one in Lansing last year.
“Since I went to the University of Michigan and Nick’s there now, we wanted to do something in Ann Arbor,” Mary Lemmer said. “The timing and location all made sense, so we said, ‘Let’s do it and bring the Italian gelateria experience here.’”
Although Nick Lemmer acknowledged competition with other ice cream shops in downtown Ann Arbor, he said that there are few places to get gelato in Ann Arbor.
Some of the offerings at Iorio's Lansing shop include Chocolate Birthday Cake and Tree-Ripened Peach.
Courtesy of Iorio's Gelateria
“You can get it at Zingerman’s and Whole Foods,” he said. “But we really just figured there was a market for it here.”
He said they will rotate 24 gelato flavors out of 600 that they make, with both dairy and non-dairy options. The price point will be comparable to other Ann Arbor frozen dessert options, he said.
They plan on immediately hiring about six employees to operate the shop, with plans to hire more in a few months.
Mary Lemmer said that the opening of their second location is exciting because gelato was an important part of her and Nick’s childhood, but she found there weren’t many gelato options in Michigan.
“We both grew up going to the East Coast where we got Italian ice all the time because it’s on every street corner,” she said. “Then we’d come back to Michigan and you couldn’t get it.”
And although Nick Lemmer said the store name is difficult to pronounce, he said it was important to them to name their business Iorio’s because of its family roots.
“It’s our grandma’s maiden name,” he said. “She’s from Italy, and we wanted to embrace our Italian side.”
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
Mary
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 2:20 a.m.
Grazie for the comments and excitement for Iorio's Gelateria coming to Ann Arbor! We are looking forward to sharing our Italian culture with everyone. It's been a real team effort, from several folks interested in delivering a unique and sweet experience in Ann Arbor, and and we hope Ann Arbor enjoys our gelato and the experience. Grazie! Vive la dolce vita! Mary ...and Bertha, if you want Calamari gelato, we can make it happen!
Jane
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 7:15 p.m.
Authentic gelato is made using milk as a base rather than cream so has less fat and no butterfat. It has less air in it. Ice cream can have over 50% air. The result is a healtheir dessert which is more dense and flavorful than ice cream. The Italians have been making it that way for many years and it is becoming more popular in the U.S. partly due to the Julia Roberts movie "Eat, Pray, Love". I hope that helps.
Subroutine
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 7:45 p.m.
Thank you, that's just the kind of info I was looking for :)
Subroutine
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 6:47 p.m.
I hate to be the ignorant one here but surely I'm not the only one who doesn't know so; What is Gelato and how does it differ from Ice Cream?
Bertha Venation
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 4:32 p.m.
mmmmmmmm! I wonder if they will have Martha Stewart's Calamari Gelato....
Jeremy Sell
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 2:44 p.m.
I've been to their shop in Lansing. I used to work as a Sous Chef in an Italian restaurant and their Gelato is a joy. Glad to see they made it happen in A2. Good luck!
a2miguy
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 2:35 p.m.
Mmmmm.... gelato!! One of my fondest memories is a tiny hole-in-the-wall gelateria I discovered near the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Best gelato ever. If Iorio's can even come close, and especially if they have pistacchio, I will be there every day and twice on Sunday. :) Good luck to you, Iorio's!
Ron Granger
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 1:42 p.m.
Ann Arbor could definitely use some great Gelato! There is plenty of fairly mediocre ice cream around, and most of it is terribly over-priced. With good Gelato, I don't even bother with ICE cream.
Jojo B
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 12:46 p.m.
I wish them the best of luck, but coming off of the @Burger and Squares closings, the lesson is to open something that is different or better than the others. There are three ice cream joints very close by, so I hope you guys will be much much better. (And yes, I know the difference between gelato and ice cream, but we're talking markets here.) So if you want to survive, please have some really terrific product, don't make it too expensive, and have a store that isn't dirty like Stucci's with employees that could care less to be there. Make it a destination. GOOD LUCK!
Eric
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 : 6:02 p.m.
What!? Are you suggesting that gelato and ice cream are not distinct markets? Seriously, though, it was previously reported in this paper that Stucchi's will be leaving its State St location and may relocate elsewhere downtown (perhaps Main St). What Iorio's has going for it appears to be a modestly sized space off of the main commercial streets which hopefully translates into a more reasonable rent burden than being on State St or Liberty or Main St. The key will be attracting customers to this slightly off the beaten path location and quality, value and an unique customer experience are great places to start. However, with Maynard House apartments above them, Tower Plaza across the street, and the new student housing going up at the corner of William and Thompson, they may just have a captive market for gelato regardless. I will make my request for pistachio.
Pamela Erbe
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 11:53 a.m.
There's nothing like real Italian gelato and a real Italian gelateria, so Iorio's is a welcome addition! I hope you have watermelon!
Wolf's Bane
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 : 11:42 a.m.
Gelato, Bongs -n- Thongs, 5 Guys Hamburgers etc. If this keeps going most of Ann Arbor will be obese and stoned...! I think I'll stick to doing my shopping at the Mall.