The new HQ of Chicho Gelato encapsulates the best of the Mount Lawley and its quintessential style that, while nuanced, has a distinctive and instantly recognisable design aesthetic. As a suburb deeply-rooted in the migrant community of Perth, today it vibrates with a blend of exuberance, electricity, and a splash of neon against an Art Deco backdrop. Chicho Gelato’s newly opened retail gelateria features a therefore befittingly bold décor, with a state-of-the-art kitchen facility that has been purpose-built to expand the flavour exploration of its ice cream empire.
Hailing from Italian and Greek backgrounds, Carly and Cesare “Chez” De Bartolo, are proud to amplify their European roots and infuse it through their business with a modern Australian twist. “From the start we considered this build as a destination – high on personality and integral to the neighbourhood,” says Carly. “The space has a rich colour palette and hones in on the Australian migrant home in the suburbs with elements like the vaulted corrugated ceilings, stucco plaster, patterned tiles, concrete lion at the entrance and Pilbara dolomite stone.”
While at a practical level the project’s purpose was to increase production space, lending itself to better efficiencies and the opportunity to be spread their creative wings in a competitive market, Chez says the design is really about transparency. “We’re putting our love for the creative process of gelato and design on show for the public,” he says. “The spaces respond to our passion for design and considers the palette of our other stores, so it acknowledges the journey we have been on whilst adding a new chapter.”
The production area dictated the groundwork for the rest of the design, and the front of house gelateria fell evolved from that. Caroline Hickey of Bosske Architecture drew on material and an aesthetic that felt authentic to the location. “Mount Lawley’s Art Deco architecture, post war housing, terracotta tiles, and renovated Italian modernism find a home in many aspects of the scheme, providing colour, texture, materials and forms,” Chez says.
A clever design solution unlocked a raft of issues with the existing building – once home to the iconic Indian institution Gogo’s – lending the workable space required but it also creating design intrigue. (think this needs rewording) “What’s most unique about 556 Beaufort St is the sneaky laneway entry and the fact that the interiors are lower than pavement level,” says Carly. “Entry to the building takes you down a set of steps ramped laneway and then where you enter from the side, which creates an opportunity for a unique arrival sequence; alfresco area, universal access and a reorientation of the planning of the building.”
Additionally, glimpses of the interiors can be captured from street. “The layering of the internal program along the footpath sees the kitchen, shop and courtyard run in parallel, perpendicular to the street,” says Chez. “Consequently, from footpath level you peek into rooms and their operations, you see each space connected and working together – we love the honesty and transparency of this.” Inside, the store offers direct line-of-sight so customers feel connected with the activity across the gelateria – witnessing the process from making, to serving, to consuming.
Bosske Architecture followed through with all aspects of the design, architecture, interiors and signage, while engineering was by Forth Consulting and building work by Assemble. Reconfiguring the old Gogo’s into something functional and cohesive that was fit for purpose proved challenging. “We needed to do a lot more work to the building shell to upgrade services and meet building code requirements than we had initially thought,” Carly explains. “In order to accommodate our equipment and workflow requirements, it ended up only a few main structural walls remained.” The space has proved their largest and most complex project to get up and running, with the Mount Lawley premises being the duo’s third gelateria, joining their Northbridge and Fremantle shopfronts. “We’ve had many long nights of researching the building and commissioning phases,” says Carly.” It is very exciting to see what we can create in our new space which offers our customers a look inside Nonna’s home to our daily gelato production from all angles.”
Ten years ago, Carly and Chez began selling authentic gelato out of imported Sicilian ice cream carts at markets and festivals. “Chez saw an article in a Monocle magazine about Carpigiani Gelato University in Italy,” says Carly. “We enrolled to see what it was all about and we haven’t stopped thinking about milk, cream and fruit and their different combinations since!” “We are more creative with our collaborations and specials, yet always endeavour to stay true to the authentic gelato making process, and use the best ingredients we can find locally or abroad.”
The team say the secret is in ensuring each flavour is well balanced, clean and true to the focused ingredients. “It can’t be masked by sweetness or ambushed by too many additions or chunks,” Chicho are about to embark on a new series of desserts or products where they ask local home cooks to come and show their skills and specialties in-house, with the first being honey dough balls known as struffoli or pignolata in southern Italy. They are also planning to begin weekend “kitchen takeovers” where a chef comes in to cook whatever they dream up, which offers an exciting experience for patrons to not only taste but witness the process.
Chez and Carly say that while their business has evolved their goal has remained steadfast – to serve the best gelato and sorbet in Perth and challenge themselves in the process. “We see Chicho as connected to the past, creative in the present and invested in the future,” Chez says. “That’s really what this new facility enables, and we’re really excited about being part of the Perth cultural scene.”