Dessert Cafe Reopens with New Look

When Angelo Onello bought an ice cream shop on Main Street in Ramsey a year ago, his family had not had much experience in the dessert business. He had worked as an automotive consultant for 25 years.

“I was tired of living on a plane, of traveling all the time,” the 35-year Ramsey resident said. “I knew I wanted to do something really close to home. I wanted to own a business in town.”

When Onello bought the ice cream and ices shop on Main Street, he and his family ran the business as it was for one season, conducting market research and planning out his vision for what the business could one day be.

“We talked to everybody who came in here, to see what they thought, what they really wanted,” Onello said. “I was amazed by how much the customers told us. They know what they want.”

The new small business owner had planned to make a few upgrades to the shop over the winter, but Hurricane Sandy had other plans.

All of the store’s inventory was ruined during the extended power outage, and most of the shop’s equipment was destroyed during power surges, Onello said.

“At first we were thinking a few improvements, but as we got more into it, getting out everything damaged in the hurricane, removing this, removing that…before you knew it, we had gutted the place and we were starting from scratch.”

The hurricane, Onello said, was a blessing in disguise, as the family was now able to construct its ideal vision for what Angelo’s would be – a dessert café that would be open all year round and serve a wide variety of dessert options throughout the day.

After three months of work, the renovated shop reopened a week ago.

Angelo’s Desserts and Espresso Café now carries a wide range of desserts – everything from homemade gelato, Italian ices, and ice cream to cupcakes from Carousel Gourmet Cupcakes in Ridgewood. The café also carries biscotti, Italian pastries, cookies and an extensive gourmet coffee selection that includes espressos, lattes, and dozens of flavorings.

“We even do the Angelo frappe, which is gelato mixed with espresso,” Onello said.

The shop also added a line of gelato birthday cakes, and rents out Italian ice carts for parties.

In addition to the new menu options, the Onello’s added in a sitting area so locals can stop by for dessert and “hang out. We wanted this to be nice, but not have a stuffy feel to it. We want our customers to be comfortable,” he said.

The feel at the shop actually changes throughout the day. In the mornings, people stop in for a pastry and coffee for breakfast, in the afternoon, kids and families stop in for a snack, and at night diners walking along Main Street after eating in one of the area’s restaurants will stop in for some dessert.

“That’s really what we wanted,” Onello said. “A place everybody can enjoy.”

And, so far, the Onello family is enjoying the dessert café most of all.

“We’re doing it as a totally family-run business,” Onello, who said his wife Wendy and two sons, Angelo and Devin, help run the shop, said. “I think that’s the only way we can really connect with the community and our customers.”

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