As the shop grew, they expanded their offerings with dairy-free and sugar-free options. They now offer upwards of 70 gelato flavours in the summer months and sell to other restaurants. As the peak season winds down, so do the flavour options, but they always keep a few on hand for dessert. “We just did gelati from the early 1980s up until about eight years ago. When my husband and I came in in 2011, we added a kitchen and started doing food. When my mom passed away, we took over completely,” Maria says. “But their legacy still lives on. We have a photo of them on the wall, and we appreciate everything they did because if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to come in and do what we're doing."
FROM GELATO TO TRADITION MARIA AND MICHAEL PEPE AT NUCCI'S GELATI (643 CORYDON), CARRYING ON THE NUCCI FAMILY LEGACY.
Like many intrepid newcomers, Gino and Rosa Nucci dabbled in entrepreneurship, first with a variety shop selling imported items from Italy, including bedspreads, dolls, marble tables and wedding favours. Next, Gino opened a pool hall. This is where he got his big idea: to open a gelato shop. He went to Italy, purchased his first gelato machine, and he and Rosa started creating the recipes that established Nucci's as a local institution, "single-handedly popularizing gelati in Winnipeg" and one of the “first families of Little Italy.” "My parents started the business 50- plus years ago at 659 Corydon Ave., just down the street, and then moved here to 643. They started with just a few flavours: pistachio, nucciola, chocolate, lemon and amaretto. Slowly, it just happened — and now it's a must-try," says Maria Pepe, Gino and Rosa's daughter who entered the business after Gino’s passing, along with her husband, Michael.
GINO AND ROSA PERFECTED THEIR RECIPES. ESTABLISHING NUCCI'S AS A LOCAL ICON, THEY WERE KNOWN FOR "SINGLE-HANDEDLY POPULARIZING GELATI IN WINNIPEG" AND BECOMING ONE OF THE “FIRST FAMILIES OF LITTLE ITALY.”
SAVOUR MANITOBA | WINTER 24 27
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