Politicians Give Warm Welcome To Gelato Giuliana On Church Street

The Oprah Winfrey cupcakes. The best coffee bean—called Essse—in Italy. The fresh fruits in the gelato. All of these ingredients combine to help make Gelato Giuliana, the new eatery on Church Street, the best place to go for a refreshing dessert this summer. Or so say the five owners, two of whom also own the Basilico restaurant in Millburn.

The eatery uses all natural ingredients and sells not only gelato and frappes—gelato milkshakes—but also pastries and other desserts. Their cupcakes—sold for $2.99 each—are purchased form the Stuffed Cupcake Place in Nutley, which became a regional favorite after donating 15,000 cupcakes to a Manhattan charity event hosted by Oprah Winfrey in May.

Looking for Nutella? You won't find the Americanized version here but the Italian version which is heavier on the hazelnut than it is on the chocolate. Of course, it also costs more—$14 a jar.

Angelo Coccuzza, Edward Shwartz, and three others opened Gelato Giuliana in July, seeking to bring authentic Italian treats to the Montclair community.

"There are two kinds of gelato—the mass-produced kind or the artisanal kind and we do the artisinal kind," Coccuzza said. "We also put a lot of money into the design of the restaurant. We wanted to brand ourselves as the best place around."

He said the eatery serves 18 flavors of gelato and that the customer favorites are generally coconut, tiramisu, and pistacchio.

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo was on hand to welcome Gelato Giuliana to the Essex County and Montclair business communities during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

"Montclair is a great town and this is another addition to making it a great and special town," he said. "This opening is important, especially with the economy the way it is. We have to do everything we can to support our small businesses."

Montclair Township Councilor Renee Baskerville, as well as other Township officials, joined the celebration.

"I'm especially excited about the healtcare aspect of this because their products have far less fat and sugar than comparable ice cream products," she said, adding that she'd already visited Gelato Giuliana three times and that she particularly liked the mango gelato. "This is a very welcome addition to this part of town."

Councilor Cary Africk agreed that the establishment is a good sign.

"This brings more people out to Church Street and now we need to continue to grow other areas such as the South Park Street development area," he said.

Gelata Giuliana

49 Church Street

Montclair

973-744-6464