The surprising fact about this Parisian-inspired Adelaide ice creamery that is now overseas

You’ve likely seen the ice cream store and even tasted its delicious Parisian-inspired gelato. But there is a simple fact you may not know about this family-owned business.

Gelato sits alongside love as the sweet stuff that binds this Adelaide family.

It is also the unheralded hero in a refreshing South Australian hospitality success story with a heart-warming history, poignant present and full-of-promise future.

Husband and wife gelataria franchise founders George and Mesha Karamalis will this month open a shop on the same Glenelg site George’s late dad, Arthur, had hisgelato store in 1993.

The December 12 launch, to coincide with what would have been Mr Karamalis Senior’s 78th birthday, marks the 11th opening of a St Louis House of Fine Ice Cream & Dessert store across Adelaide and the Philippines. Two more openings – in Prospect and Elizabeth – are planned in February.

Still, more than a decade on from the first store in Gouger St in 2012, many don’t recognise the ice cream chain as a bonafide local brand.

“I mean, to this day, people are still surprised that we are South Australian; we are just a husband and wife duo who came up with this idea years ago and thought, ‘hey, let’s give it a shot’,” Mrs Karamalis, 41, said.

George with his late dad Arthur Karamalis: Picture: supplied

When George’s dad opened his Royal Copenhagen franchise it not only provided his 15-year-old son with a taste for the ice cream business but also sowed the entrepreneurial seed for a dream to one day create his own string of businesses.

Significantly, it was also the place where the younger Karamalis, now 46, would meet his wife of 13 years and mother of three children, when she had a part-time job serving ice cream at the shop.

“There is a romance and history (to our story) and we are really proud of that,” Mr Karamalis, who travelled to Italy to fine tune his gelato-making skills, said.

“The Glenelg location holds a special place in my heart ... it’s the exact premise where my father’s journey in ice cream began ... to be opening our gelataria here, on his birthday, feels incredibly meaningful.

“It is my hope that his legacy continues through me, and hopefully my children and future generations after that.”

The name for the SA ice cream chain was inspired by the Parisian address of famed ice creamery Berthillon, on the Île Saint-Louis the loved-up couple once visited.

“It is this amazing gelataria … and that was it for us,” Mr Karamalis said.

And what is the secret of great gelato?

“To be completely honest it starts with the Fior di Lattette – or nude gelato … from there it is about sourcing fresh, local produce such as honey from Kangaroo Island, and tapping into that,” Mr Karamalis said.

“It is really about the classics … the classics are here for life and we need to make sure that we make a product true to our heart.

“Our focus has always been on quality and staying true to the artisan process, rather than chasing fleeting trends.”

Ice cream is part of life for the Karamalis children – Amalia, 12, Maisie, 4, and Archie, 10. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

For him, hazelnut and pistachio nut flavours are hard to beat while his wife can’t go past the store’s St Louis ice cream.

“It has honeycomb, caramel and white chocolate … it is like an old-fashioned, nostalgic flavour,” she said.

“It actually reminds me of when we were scooping ice cream in Arthur’s shop … that flavour just brings back a lot of beautiful memories for me.”

Each of the couple’s children – Amalia, 12, Archie, 10, and four-year-old Maisie – have inspired a dessert item on the menu.

# Find the store at shop 7/1 Colley Tce (near the corner of Jetty Rd and Colley Tce).