Sweetaly Gelato to Bring Authentic Italian Flavors to Downtown Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara is set to get a new dessert destination this summer.

Sweetaly Gelato is preparing to open at the Paseo Nuevo shopping center on State Street.

This will be the gelato store’s first location in California.

Sharing the news of the upcoming arrival in a social media post, Sweetaly Gelato said the store will open soon.

In the Instagram post, the Sweetaly Gelato team shared a glimpse of the store’s interiors and the exterior State Street surroundings.

Sweetaly Gelato prepares its Gelato fresh, using locally sourced milk and fresh fruit, according to its website. Some of the ingredients, such as pistachios, chocolate, and hazelnuts, are sourced from Italy to ensure authentic flavors.

In addition to offering some popular gelato flavors, including dark salted caramel, coffee, mascarpone, French vanilla, pistachio, and coconut, Sweetaly Gelato also has a range of sorbet options.

From Italy to the U.S.

Sweetaly Gelato has two stores in Utah, one each in Salt Lake City and Holladay.

The store was founded by Francesco Amendola, who was raised in southern Italy and learned the craft of making Gelato in Italian gelato schools, according to the store’s website.

Amendola and his wife, Lisa, relocated to Utah in 2014 and opened their first store in a small space in a mall in Salt Lake City.

Describing their first store as a “hole in the wall,” Amendola said the store was run by the husband-wife duo in a tiny kitchen and with gelato machines.

They expanded their presence in Utah and opened their Holladay store in February 2021.

Amendola plans to expand his business slowly and “bring a little taste of Italy” wherever he goes.

Taking Over at Tondi’s Gelato Spot

Sweetaly Gelato store is opening at the space at Paseo Nuevo that earlier housed Tondi’s Gelato.

Tondi’s Gelato permanently closed in November 2025, after serving Santa Barbara authentic Italian gelato for five years.

In a social media post, Tondi’s Gelato announced that the owners decided not to renew the five-year lease, as it was “no longer sustainable” for the business and the owner’s family.

“We tried to negotiate but were unable to come to an agreement,” the owner said in the Instagram post.

Sweetaly Gelato’s arrival at Paseo Nuevo comes at a time when the City of Santa Barbara is planning a redevelopment of the shopping center as a mixed-use hub. The plan aims to revitalize downtown State Street, while adding new housing.

Stating that the authorities are planning to redevelop or demolish part of the mall, Tondi’s Gelato said that these plans may have made restructuring the lease “unlikely.”

“We think Paseo Nuevo will turn out to be amazing and we wish them the best,” Tondi’s Gelato said in its Instagram post.