Pino Gelato: December 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Happy Anniversary to Pino Gelato Cafe in Cranberry Twp, PA!

You may have noticed that we often use the term "family" at Pino Gelato. Well, family did play a key role for Ron and Kim Kachman, who now owns the Pino Gelato Cafe in Cranberry township, Pennsylvania. While on a family vacation on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, one of their family member discovered Pino Gelato and introduced our gelato and concept to Ron and Kim. Then, they visited our corporate retail store in The Village at Wexford, met with John Jacobs and Ramona Fantini, and the rest was history.

A few month later, Dominic Leong was in Cranberry Twp, training a dozen college and high schools students who would work along side with Ron and Kim to bring the genuine taste of Italy to this great area, near Pittsburgh, PA. Ron and Kim invited friends and family to experience Pino Gelato and discover their new location in the Oak Tree Place shopping center on the night before the Grand Opening. The fun began when more than 50 VIP guests strolled through the cafe and tasted Pino gelato and sorbetto for the first time.

Since each Pino Gelato license is individually owned, Ron and Kim envisioned this full menu European style cafe, where patrons are served not only authentic gelato and sorbetto, but also a wide assortment of pastries and bakery goods. Customers need a little time to choose among the selection of soups and sandwiches on their lunch break. One may stop by anytime for a cold refreshment or hot beverage, even though it is hard to decide between the various specialty coffee drinks, hot chocolate, and chai teas.

Ron and Kim just celebrated their 6-month anniversary and launched new Italian-style sandwiches. And that did not go unnoticed, as national website RestaurantNews.com featured Pino Gelato cafe last week!

(click here or on the below image to view the full article)

So, congratulations to Ron and Kim and thank you to all of our loyal and new customers!

Congratulazioni!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Art, Bubbly and Cake!

Mira Scott, owner of Picture this Gallery and president of the Island school Council for the Arts here on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, invited us to participate in the first “Art, Bubbly & Cake” event.

Mira came to Pino Gelato in The Village at Wexford not long ago to tell us about the upcoming event concept: “Take 10 celebrity artists and pair them with 10 celebrity chefs and what can you come up with? A unique cake from the chefs inspired by a painting or sculpture from the artist. Throw in some bubble and you have a fabulous and fun evening.”

We were paired with artist Amiri Farris, who painted “Plumes of Great Egret” and ready for the challenge. Our talented team member Maira Rosso worked on the gelato cake based on a couple of drafts the artist, Amiri, had sent us. And voila!

Artist Amiri Farris and Pino gelato's Maira Rosso

Featured in The Island Packet on 11/23/11 (http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/11/23/1872652/edible-art-local-chefs-artists.html)

So, the red carpet was rolled out and the party was a huge success, gathering artists, chefs and art amateurs around unique creations, both edible and non-edible, along with some bubbly and other refreshments.

Carrie Hirsh, board member of the Gullah Museum and food columnist for South Carolina Living Magazine (yes, she is the one who wrote about Pino gelato in August 201 (http://www.ecsc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=583&Itemid=253) told us that “only one of the artists had ever painted a cake, and most of the chefs had ever undertaken the creation of a cake based on original artwork”.

Do you need another reason to get onboard beside the bubbly & cake?!

A great cause: the proceeds of this event will fund the first culinary residency for the island School Council for the Arts; Sallie Ann Robinson will teach a series of classes on Gullah cuisine to 3^rd and 4^th grade students.

But enough said, let take a look at those succulent creations and beautiful piece of arts: