City Gelato, a downtown Baton Rouge staple for three years, is expanding its business to 14 Rouses supermarkets across the state this month, which means that now, 40 stores across the state will carry the six flavors.
Owner Mario Lozanov started City Gelato in 2013 from a single stand downtown. Now, there are three City Gelato carts around the city, including one in front of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library on Goodwood Blvd. Although City Gelato is already sold in 22 locations in the Baton Rouge area and three in New Orleans, Lozanov says expanding to Rouses is a big step for his company.
“With Rouses, we’ll be able to have a bigger presence in New Orleans,” he said. “It’s a way for people to embrace gelato as an alternative option to ice cream.”
Lozanov never planned to make gelato for a living. He has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, but said he fell in love with the gelato business after managing Bacio di Roma Italian Café, a gelato shop on West Chimes St. He says his scientific knowledge comes in handy when measuring the right amount of flavors to add to his gelato.
“It’s not rocket science, but it’s still a science,” he said. “If you don’t know all your ingredients and all the exact ratios, you won’t be making a good product.”
After managing the shop on West Chimes, Lozanov felt inspired to open his own gelato business. To do so, he turned to the LSU Food Incubator, which helps local culinary businesses make products for mass markets.
Gaye Sandoz, the Food Incubator director and coordinator, oversees over 30 companies that utilize the Food Incubator, which includes equipment to make salad dressings, hummus, baked goods, and, of course, gelato. She said the Food Incubator can be an important tool for culinary entrepreneurs who are looking to get a leg up in the business.
“Our incubator is very popular,” she said. “We started with 10 tenants in 2013 in a lab on campus … and have 34 now.”
Sandoz added that since the Food Incubator was introduced at LSU, 90 tons of products have been produced there.
Lozanov approached the Food Incubator to help him obtain a pasteurizer for his gelato that would be approved by the Department of Health and Hospitals. Because of a grant the program had recently obtained, they were able to pay for a pasteurizer that helps Lozanov produce large quantities of gelato for sale to larger markets.
Lozanov said the Food Incubator has been there to support every step of his business, not just the pasteurization stage. He says that Luis Espinoza, manager of services at the Food Incubator, has been especially helpful in ensuring City Gelato’s success.
“[Espinoza] has been pivotal in providing the knowledge without which no food company could operate safely and in compliance with state and federal regulations,” Lozanov said.
As his company expands, Lozanov wants the original gelato carts to remain an integral part of his business. He said they are a way to connect directly with his customers and a way to remember how far the company has come.
“It’s really hard to start your own business from scratch,” he said. “The company is successful now, but it hasn’t always been easy to do.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Emily Brauner

City Gelato offers hand-crafted italian desserts to customers outside the Main Library at Goodwood.