Fresh taste in town for well-known gelato store's new venue

Perth Now

17 hours ago

A beloved gelato store is planning to unveil new flavours as part of a grand opening this weekend in the southern suburbs — as well as free gelato for a day.
Gusto Gelato left its Leederville location last month to open shop in Willetton, joining its East Victoria Park and Elizabeth Quay locations.
Owner Sean Lee has since been busy transforming a former supermarket at Southlands shopping centre into a warm and welcoming place where people can enjoy their 'handcrafted happiness'.
It will offer 26 flavours, two of which will rotate for weekly specials and another two rotating seasonally.
'Salted Caramel is always a crowd favourite, along with Cookie Monster and Choc Fudge Brownie for the kids,' Mr Lee said.
'My fave is Mascarpone & Cocoa as it is rich, creamy and you can eat a lot of it without feeling full.
'We do have a couple of new flavours planned for Willetton, including Black Sesame and possibly Durian or Red Bean.'
Gusto Gelato also plans to have gelato cakes, 'sexy singles' — gelato sandwiches, mason jars filled with individual gelato desserts, mini cakes and mini gelato bars — and milkshakes flavoured with two scoops of a gelato of the customer's choosing.
'We will also be offering all local school students a gelato Happy Hour between 3pm-4pm, where if they come in store in their uniform they will pay whatever time it is for their scoop,' Mr Lee said.
'If it's 3.15pm, they will be charged $3.15 for their scoop, which is more than 50 per cent off.'
As well as its cool treats, the store will have an art installation on one of its walls that is planned to be changed on a regular basis. Raspberry gelato is on the menu. Credit: Carwyn Monck / The West Australian
'It will be loosely based around gelato, with the visuals focusing more on striking imagery that makes people smile,' Mr Lee said.
'We will be opening it up to local artists and would also like to work with local schools to have their art students submit pieces for consideration.
'It's about creating a space that is always evolving but also engaging the local community.'
The community already appears to have embraced Gusto Gelato, with Mr Lee saying locals had been popping in to say how happy they were that they don't have to drive as far now.
'We've received about twice as many CVs from people than we ever received at any of our stores prior,' he said.
'The level of excitement in their applications has been heartwarming too.'
He said the recent cold weather had not deterred people from sampling their wares.
'The biggest factor affecting seasonality is not the cold, but the rain. In Perth, people don't like going out when it rains,' he said.
Mr Lee said he had always loved gelato and but had found it difficult to find good artisanal gelato in Perth.
'So I made the decision to travel to Gelato University in Italy to learn the art of gelato making and opened our first store In Leederville back in 2014.' he said.
'What I love about this business is I get to play Willy Wonka every day, coming up with new and exciting flavours.
'A big added bonus is seeing the happiness on people's faces when they eat gelato, especially kids. How can you not love that.'
The Willetton grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, August 23, with free gelato all day.