I am an owner of Gia Gelato & Caf?, and I had been alerted to this forum by a few concerned customers. While the majority of the comments on this site were constructive criticism, I was shocked and ashamed by the other negative comments because I felt we somehow failed our community. Normally, I would not respond to such negative comments, but they were so damaging that I am ethically bound to a duty to vigorously protect the integrity of my business, my staff and my customers.

First, we have never ever EVER bribed, paid off, or enter into agreement with any city official, city worker, or candidate to obtain a certificate of occupancy to expedite the opening of our establishment. We had spent too much time, money and aggravation just to consider it.

Second, our political affiliations and the political affiliations of our staff are private. While there are signs posted in our window, some of them are political the majority are not. Since we want Gia Gelato & Caf? to be recognized as an informational branch of Jersey City we didn?t think there was any harm in posting cultural ads in our windows with hopes of bringing awareness to the community so that its residents may become active and feel inclusive. The May 14th mayoral election is one such instance, and the signs were diligently posted as we received them. We attempted to cater to a variety of candidates. In fact, in addition to the signs posted in our window, a Q&A for Fulop was held at our caf? on April 8th, and we are hosting a meet and greet for Fletcher on May 2nd. If there is a candidate who does not have a sign posted or does not feel adequately represented in our restaurant and wishes to do so we would, of course, welcome the opportunity.

Third, we are sorry to disappoint those who learned that our gelato is made by a vendor. However, we can assure you that our gelato is made by an artisan gelato maker who makes our gelato only upon order and in small batches. It took nearly a year to locate such an artisan because we only wanted the best quality and freshest as practicable to serve our customers. Our gelatos are never mass produced or sit in a warehouse and then distributed months after it had been made. Our artisan uses only the best quality ingredients. Thus, we will not served you with artificial colors, ingredients, or powders commonly found in inferior gelatos. Additionally, our gelato maker resorts to local farmers for its ingredients, and where it could not be obtained from international farmers. Further, our gelato maker has worked and continues to work closely with the top chefs and restaurants throughout the country, and has decades of experience. So, naturally, he has collected a large repertoire of recipes for gelato flavors. We feel very fortunate to have obtained this connection to deliver to you.

Fourth, initially, the concept of Gia Gelato & Caf? was to obtain legal and business experience. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that there was an underserved niche in the community. Within six weeks of opening our doors, we have quickly partnershiped with other small local businesses, affiliated ourselves with art shows with JC Fridays, donated food to local schools and non-profit groups, and took unemployed individuals off of the State?s payroll and provided employment opportunities to the disadvantaged. In fact, one of our employees is a single mother of two small children and was homeless. With your support of our caf?, she is now enabled to provide for her family and open her first bank account. Another employee is working to pay for a college education. Needless to say, our employees are very proud of their work and work tirelessly to please our customers. We have been so inspired by them that we plan to hire other overlooked disadvantaged bright stars. And, as the summer months roll around, we are also looking to hire and train part-time high schoolers to keep them occupied, off the streets and money in their pockets. We have had the pleasure to serve meet many of you while improving the community needs and look forward to continuing to do so.

Finally, this will be my last time viewing this webpage because of the foreseeable subsequent mockery. However, if there are any concerns about what we do or any suggestions in how we could do it better, please bring those issues directly to my attention and I will try my best to address them. With better communication, we clear up any misunderstandings and work together to build a better community.