Sample flavors from the GGC gelato menu, which stocks 12 different housemade spins, include Nutella, vanilla panna cotta, salted caramel and strawberry sorbet. (Photo: Alex Luhrman)
April 21, 2026—This will sound like blasphemy to some, but ironically not to our papal pals at the Vatican: Ice cream is not the best.
The reason the ranking Catholics won’t flinch is in Rome they do…as Romans should: They understand great gelato in its airy and velvety transcendence might have ice cream beat.
That’s gaining volume in my hymnal at the moment because of the debut of Gran Gelato in downtown Santa Cruz, where early returns indicate the handmade gelato—in both more cloistered and irreverently creative flavors—proves heavenly.
Luciana and Sandro Costanza have dreamed of opening a gelato shop for the better part of a decade after finding success with nearby Pizzeria La Bufala. (Photo: Alex Luhrman)
It’s not against my religion to eat gelato (or pizza) made by non-Italians, but it could be a food commandment that Italian Food Does Taste Better Served With An Italian Accent.
That happens with chef Sandro Costanza and his wife/co-owner Luciana.
They returned to their homeland to attend gelato catechism, which Sandro notes involves a lot of math.
“So much math!” Luciana agrees. “It’s all about balancing the ingredients.”
“Our gelato is a different formulation than your average ice cream,” Sandro adds.
They import specific things from Italy (including hazelnuts and pistachios), then source other key inputs (like citrus and berries) from local farmers markets.
The aesthetic, done with help from San Francisco designer Alessandro Miramare, aims to evoke Southern Italy’s Calabrian region. “What we were looking for was a way to express to Santa Cruzers the feeling we have when we go back home,” Luciana says. (Photo: Alex Luhrman)
The resulting flavors prove rapturous.
They also balance some greatest hits—vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, and a few sorbets—with more novel inventions like almond marzipan and cookies and cream, with constantly renewed options.
“We listen to our dreams at night,” Sandro says of their creative process.
Luciana adds this: “We take things we like, and we try to make them into gelato.”
The Gran toast and panini options are limited in number but large on flavor, with choices like avocado, eggplant, salmon-marzipan cream and mortadella-burrata. (Photo: Alex Luhrman)
There’s more astir here for the congregation than gelato, however, including salads, bespoke toasts, and panini on focaccia they make at their pizzeria.
Their Abbott Square eatery, Pizzeria La Búfala, provides real synergy like that focaccia. (Other non-pizza specialties include meatballs, eggplant parmesan, gnocchi, Caesar salads and tiramisu.)
It also supplies proven proverbs that come with extended local restaurant experience (paired with additional previous time back home and in California).
Espresso and other Italian-style coffee drinks present another GGC strength. (Photo: Alex Luhrman)
“One of the main features of our pizzeria is that [the pizza] is ready in three minutes,” Luciana says. “You don’t have to wait too long. We got that idea in Italy: You go for a cappuccino in Italy, and it’s ready in a minute.
“It’s not like that here—you’re waiting a lot longer for your coffee. We want fast, but keeping the good service.”
Can I get an Amen.
Gran represents one of the rare businesses to open in new downtown developments. It occupies the commercial ground floor of Cedar Street Family Apartments, which came online in 2024 at the corner of Cathcart and Cedar. (Photo: Alex Luhrman)
Hours to start run 10am-3pm and 4-9pm Wednesday-Sunday, with Tuesday service coming soon. More at Gran Gelato Caffè’s Instagram page.
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
Dining and Cooking