Courtesy of Il Laboratorio del Gelato
Located in Manhattan’s Lower East side next to the Tenement Museum stands an ice-cream store that sells artisanal Italian gelato.
Serving over 200 flavours of ice cream, Il Laboratorio del Gelato blends creativity and quality with the finest ingredients. Founder Jon F. Snyder encourages creative experimentation, even allowing chefs from neighbouring restaurants to try their hand at new recipes.
“I’ve always liked the Italian word ‘laboratorio’…I wanted to build a facility where chefs could come and collaborate on new flavours. People love it,” said Snyder.
Standard flavours such as vanilla, chocolate and espresso are favourites with customers and wholesale clients alike. However, the more adventurous may be tempted by fresh figs, blood oranges and concord grapes–flavours that capture the seasons.
Prior to establishing Il Laboratorio del Gelato in 2002, Snyder co-founded Ciao Bella Gelato, now a national brand, at the tender age of nineteen. Six years later, Snyder sold the business and set his sights on Wall Street, but was soon craving adventure—and premium gelato.
“I followed the progress of my former company and when the idea came to me of starting up again in the ice-cream world, it made a lot of sense…It was cool to compete with my former company, cool to open something in the city, cool to get my entrepreneurial spirit moving again, and cool to bring a world-class product to Manhattan that I thought was lacking,” said Snyder.
As Il Laboratorio del Gelato becomes increasingly successful, there are plans for expansion. However, Snyder would bid arrivederci to his second child if prompted to follow in the large footsteps of Ciao Bella.
“It’s hard to say what the future holds. I’ve always said that if we ever get near the size of Ciao Bella, then it probably won’t be mine anymore. I think that in the food business, most of the time, quality suffers with quantity. And the goal has always been to remain a small and artisanal world-class destination.”
Let’s raise our cones to the sweet taste of success.
Il Laboratorio del Gelato, 95 Orchard Street, between Broome and Delancey, New York, NY 10002; Tel: +1 212 343 9922. Visit www.laboratoriodelgelato.com for more information
