HOURS: monday – thursday: 8:00 am – 10 pm | friday and saturday: 8:00 am – 11:00 pm | sunday: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Los Angeles, CA, February 8, 2007 – Gelato Bar, a new concept designed by Gail Silverton and developed with her partner and fiancé, Joel Gutman, has recently opened in Tujunga Village, Studio City. 

Silverton is the founder of the Neighborhood School, the highly recognized nursery school for children 2½ years to kindergarten with three locations in the San Fernando Valley, and is sister to Nancy Silverton of Mozza and La Brea Bakery.  Through her experiences with children and their parents, Gail Silverton saw a growing need in her Studio City neighborhood for a space where all ages and groups could gather, meet, and connect.

Both Gail and her sister own homes in Panicale, a small village in the Umbrian region of Italy.  The yearly visits with extended family exposed Silverton to the artistry of regional products.  She also discovered the bonding found in the Italian piazza, where members of the community could be found seeking daily news and camaraderie.  She became passionate about finding a way to recreate the experience with an American sensibility back home in California.

When a space opened on Tujunga Avenue in the small and eclectic retail area that includes Aroma, Caoti, Two Roads Theater, the Village Gourmet, Vitello’s and Elizabeth’s Antiques, Silverton and Gutman saw it as the perfect opportunity for their shared vision.

Within months, the modest storefront was transformed into a miniature Italian “piazza.” Two giant plastic ice cream cones imported from Italy mark the exterior of the shop. The space is the first location of Vitello’s Italian restaurant, and Gelato Bar’s interior courtyard retains the 1974 vintage flooring of inlaid terra cotta tiles.  (more)