Thinking about a storefront business to look into, I knew that Stella and I had to visit Pesso’s Italian Ices, not only because it is situated in a residential area with few shops, but because the ices are so delicious! Pesso’s has been a family-owned ice cream shop opened all year round, seven days a week since 2004.
This past weekend, as Stella and I walked down 35th Ave in Bayside, Queens, I looked around the neighborhood with familiarity – and with a new lens. Across the street is a church where I grew up playing basketball, but I’d never realized that next to Pesso’s are two other small businesses, a mixed martial arts gym and a nail salon.
Gidon Pesso (owner of Pesso’s)
The exterior of the shop was illuminating as the bright red, green, and white colors immediately caught my eye. There were also two tables with chairs placed alongside the store and a walk-up window with an immense variety of flavors listed. Upon entering Pesso’s, I was welcomed by the bright room and smiling faces. The air was fresh and the smell of sweet ice cream struck. I definitely couldn’t wait to eat the frozen dessert.
A sample of ice cream
Before walking into the shop, we were hesitant because it seemed pretty vacant from the outside. However, we were immediately greeted by the owner, Gidon Pesso, as he jokingly said, “I saw you guys outside, might as well come on in!” Even though he was just about to leave and meet up with his wife, after introducing ourselves, he recognized me as a regular and complied with the interview.
Although Pesso was born in America, he grew up in Israel and came back here when he was 25-years-old. He was a house painter for about 20 years, but then quit his job and made a switch in his career. Pesso searched back to his childhood and tried to find what he would love to do, and he thought, “Ice cream brings me back.” That was when he bought this place from a friend, and from then on, he’s been serving people from all over the city with his delectable frozen desserts.
Pesso’s is located in a little spot, but it is a wonderful, little establishment because the customers here are great people. Pesso stated, “[They] come here not because they have to, but because they want to. It’s a great privilege to have.” Many neighborhood residents come here on a weekly basis, and even some have been eating here for 13 years, since Pesso’s was established. In fact, on most days during the spring/summer, the line would go out the door. Inside the shop, I noticed a sign that says “HAPPY PLACE” located next to the menu. This goes to show how much the shop prides themselves in valuing and caring for its customers.
In terms of nationality, everybody comes here. Pesso makes an analogy of how his shop is “almost like a bar because you come to have ice cream to leave everything behind and enjoy the frivolous things.” Pesso’s is the type of place where people from all different kinds of backgrounds, race, and culture come together. It establishes a sense of community in the Bayside neighborhood. Nevertheless, in addition to the genial customers and lively ambiance, there are always disadvantages when running a small business in New York City.
There is always a cost of doing business, from paying your rent and workers to buying supplies for your products and utensils. Especially in NYC, it is difficult to run a small business due to the city’s regulations and requirements. As a matter of fact, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a legislation that would increase the minimum wage from $10.50 an hour to $15 an hour in the next four years. Laws like this make a significant impact on businesses because raising minimum wage cuts into profits, and this is a lot for small businesses. They may not be able to afford to have as many employees, and it is already tough to thrive and offer a business to the community. In response to this concern, Pesso said, “It’s crazy, for a small business, between the regular expenses and everything else that the city and state kind of sets for everyone. New York City is one of the hardest places [to run] small businesses in the country.”
With this being said, Pesso is a strategist and a planner. He cautiously prepares for the future by ‘keeping less inventory,’ stating that “it’s a business play.” Instead of buying a lot of cups, spoons, and other materials at once, he does the opposite. He buys only what he needs in case of emergency or a problem, so he would have enough money to buy better items on the spot. He said, “I spend twenty percent of my day looking for better products [and better, more simple, more affordable, and more efficient] ways to run my business.” Consequently, his business is thriving.
Pesso’s is the only place where you can choose from an impressive selection of Italian ices, creamy ices, ice cream, gelato, soft serve, frozen yogurt, sundaes, smoothies, and milkshakes. What also makes this shop so unique is that they constantly create new flavors. Currently, Pesso’s has a selection of about 130 flavors. There are fun, classic flavors like lemon, chocolate, mango, sour cherry, and also interesting, innovative ones including green tea, cannoli, maple bacon, Swedish Fish candy, and raspberry cheesecake. In fact, they make everything right in the back of the shop.
Interior of Pesso’s
Towards the end of the conversation, Stella and I inquired of how they make everything so delicious. Pesso said that the ices are basically upon mixes, fruit purees, sugar, and corn syrup, as he humorously said, “Yeah, the dreaded corn syrup. Without the corn syrup, you’d be nothing and everything would be tasting like you know what.” After mixing these products together in a machine, they have to laboriously add and mix in the cookies, nuts, and other toppings by hand. Finally, they put this mix in the containers and freeze it. But Pesso is not the only person who does this, his children are also his partners in business; they have all been working together since it started.
Pesso’s Italian Ices continues to share its passion for providing a friendly neighborhood with delicious frozen treats. No matter the weather, this shop serves the community all year round. With its best, authentic ingredients, Pesso’s has truly made a mark on the diverse Bayside community by bringing everyone from near and far together. Just with one spoonful of ice cream, childhood memories are brought back to life.
(I apologize in advance for this somewhat unappetizing picture of ices that Stella and I ate. We were just too excited to eat them that we forgot to take a picture beforehand!)
Raspberry cheesecake creamy ice and rainbow Italian ice
