Announcing plans to shut their shop in Kentish Town Road in September, owners Fiona Bell and Michelina Caliendo-Sear said they are “leaving on a high as London’s number one”.
Famous for unusual flavours such as Marmite and Sourdough and Parma Violet, they say the move will allow them to grow their business – focusing on UK-wide online sales and supplying other outlets.
And they say the rising cost of running a bricks and mortar business in London means passing on price increases to customers – which they don’t want to do.
Posting on Instagram they wrote: “After six incredible years serving from our beloved High Street parlour, we are announcing a new chapter for Caliendo’s Gelato.
“We will be closing our Kentish Town shop premises in September and shifting our focus to growing our B2B partnerships, nationwide foodservice, and our festival, weddings & special events activity.
“We know this will be heart-breaking for some, this decision hasn’t been easy, but it reflects how our business has evolved and the opportunities that we have carved out for our brand.
“We are leaving on a high as London’s number one and whilst we will deeply miss all our loyal customers and our quirky parlour, we are excited to be challenging ourselves again.
“Whilst we are immensely proud of what we have built and the connections we have made with our local community; the reality is we are not able to grow the business whilst the parlour continues to demand the vast majority of our time and energy. ”
They said they had been unable to find a management team for the shop who would maintain their “exceptionally high standards” and cited the “current economic outlook and ever increasing costs of doing business in London” as influencing their decision.
“We can’t, in good conscience, keep passing costs onto customers or compromise on quality, which we have vowed never to do.”
The good news for fans of their unique flavours which also include Jamaican Coffee and blackcurrant & Liquorice, is there will still be a scooping cabinet serving Caliendo’s gelato at the Phoenician Food Hall in Kentish Town from September.
They will also be launching an online platform for nationwide delivery.
“This shift allows us to expand our reach, partner with more brands, experiment with even more exciting flavours, and bring our signature gelato experience to new places and more people,” they posted.
The business was founded in 2019 just before the pandemic but Michelina’s family has a long history of gelato making dating back 150 years.
The original Caliendos family can be traced back to the 1880 census living in London’s Little Italy.
After a “rollercoaster” few years Caliendo’s won the UK’s first Ice Cream Parlour of the Year competition in 2003 which was organised by industry trade association the Ice Cream Alliance (ICA).
In 2024 and again this month They were voted No 1 ice-cream Parlour by Time Out.
Caliendo’s Gelato is at 182 Kentish Town Road. www.caliendos.co.uk
