Gran Gelato Caffè opens in downtown Santa Cruz, among first businesses in new developments

According to restaurant owner Sandro Costanza, the way to recognize really good gelato is that the first sensation in your mouth is warmth, not cold. 

“If you taste cold, it’s not gelato. It should feel like fresh whipped cream,” said Costanza, who opened Gran Gelato Caffè in downtown Santa Cruz on Wednesday alongside his wife, Luciana. 

The gelateria is one of the only places in the county to purchase the Italian frozen treat, and the Costanzas are aiming to dazzle customers by making 12 flavors in-house, from cookies and cream to pistachio and strawberry sorbet and salted caramel, rather than importing it from abroad. The shop will also offer Italian pastries, such as crisp, layered sfogliatelle, espresso and coffee, and several salads and sandwiches for lunch. 

Gran Gelato is one of the first businesses to open in the commercial space of a new downtown development — in this case, the Cedar Street Family Apartments, which opened in 2024 at the corner of Cathcart and Cedar streets. Finding retail tenants for the thousands of square feet of new commercial space has posed a challenge for developers, possibly because of ongoing construction projects throughout downtown. It’s also been a difficult few years for retail nationally. The Anton Pacific Apartments at Pacific Avenue and Laurel Street, for example, hasn’t secured any commercial tenants in four years. 

The Costanzas said that the support of developer Chris Garwood of Pacific Union Housing Group and Milestone Housing, the owners of Cedar Street, was crucial in jump-starting their business. “They built out the structure, all the plumbing and electrical for us. We did the floor and the finishes,” said Sandro.

The final result is a corner café brimming with light that bounces up to tall ceilings. Cool blue tiles and paint aim to mimic the Mediterranean sea, said Luciana, and a huge wallpapered mural of a dreamy coastal village – part Santa Cruz, part Positano, Italy – decorates the back wall. Outside, bistro tables line one side along the pedestrian walkway that connects Cedar Street with Center Street, inviting guests to linger over an espresso or lemon sorbet. 

The Costanzas are no strangers to Santa Cruz’s restaurant industry. They also own Pizzeria La Bufala, a Neopolitan pizzeria in Abbott Square. Sandro, who immigrated to the U.S. from southern Italian in the early 1990s, opened and operated Star Bene in Live Oak until 2005, and another restaurant in Saratoga for nine years after that. 

With the success of La Bufala, he and Luciana dreamed of opening a gelateria. In 2018, they spent a month at an Italian pastry school learning how to create the finicky dessert, which must be painstakingly crafted to create vibrant flavors and a velvety texture. “You need to put a lot of love into making artisanal gelato. It doesn’t have a long shelf life,” said Sandro. 

The orange-marzipan flavor – one of Sandro’s creations – hits your palate with a silky burst of orange zest and almond, while the dairy-free lemon sorbet is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

At Gran Gelato, Sandro will make gelato in either 30- or 60-liter batches – around 8 to 16 gallons – at a time, in two machines imported from Italy. They’re focusing on popular Italian flavors such as Nutella, made with the European chocolate-hazelnut spread, and vanilla panna cotta swirled with rich Amarena cherries. Batches will be made every three to four days – or sooner, if a flavor runs out. 

The cafe is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. but is closed for an hour in the afternoon, from 3-4 p.m. The Costanzas plan to extend their hours over the summer as needed, and aim to add more prepared items for breakfast and lunch – bringing a scoop of “la dolce vita” to a corner of Santa Cruz. 

525 Cedar St., Santa Cruz.

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