Dolcezza Georgetown Location to Close?

Photo by WCP.

Dolcezza, long ranked among the best gelato shop in DC, was founded in Georgetown in 2003. But it may soon be leaving the neighborhood.

The uncertainty is from what it otherwise great news: Dolcezza is moving its production facilities from the basement of its Georgetown store to Union Market, the trendy new market in Ward 5. According to Eater DC:

A gelato tasting room, a coffee lab and a bar will all be a part of the gelato factory that Dolcezza is building near Union Market at 550 Penn St. NE….The 4,000 square foot warehouse (it used to be a wholesale flower market) will be the new home base for the D.C. company, which has been expanding throughout the area. The tasting room’s bar will seat 20 people, and tastings will be available between noon and 7 p.m. each day — customers will get the chance to sample gelato flavors as Dolcezza is trying them out.

This is great to see a home grown Georgetown store grow and succeed like this. But what will happen to the original location?

There’s a large sign on the building right now offering it for sale or lease. GM asked an employee about it and she told him that sadly once the store moves out the production equipment in a few months, the store would likely close. She did mention the vague possibility of a branch opening up on M St., but this seemed unlikely.

Losing this store would be sad for the neighborhood, and particularly sad for GM, who can practically see the back of Dolcezza from his kitchen. Yes we have a ton of frozen (and not frozen) sweet shops–you can practically hit Thomas Sweet’s with a rock from the steps of Dolcezza–but Dolcezza’s high quality and more neighborhood-oriented location put it a step above the other shops.

GM reached out to the store for confirmation, but did not hear back. He did, however, get in touch with the leasing agent. And the news might not bad after all! Dolcezza actually owns the building. They are still mulling what they want to do with it, but one possibility would be a sale with a lease-back. It’s still up in the air, but at least there is some hope that although Georgetown will lose its gelato factory, it won’t lose its gelato store.

That would be pretty sweet.