Matteo Servente and Ryan Watt are peddling their gelato. Literally.
The Zio Matto Gelato owners recently bought a bicycle with an attached cart/cooler to help them sell their five-ounce gelato containers, which are already in area restaurants and markets.
“We had this idea of ‘How do we bring it to people as much as possible,’” says Servente. “The cart is such a visually iconic image in people’s minds.”
And, he says, “We could really use it to bring gelato to people for weddings, corporate events, whatever people might be interested in. It’s a great way to bring the gelato experience to your backyard or wherever you want it.”
Servente, who is from Torino, Italy, founded the business. “The name comes from my niece. When she was very little she couldn’t pronounce my name right. ‘Matteo’ was ‘Matto,’ which is ‘crazy,’ and ‘Zio’ is ‘uncle’ in Italian.”
Servente, a filmmaker and former Crosstown Arts resident artist, says Zio Matto is his main focus. “For many years I had been toying with the possibility of bringing some of these Italian treats to Memphis that I’m used to from growing up. Gelato became the obvious choice.”
He learned “the secret” to making gelato in Italy, and it seemed like the right treat to bring to “a place where the options of real, authentic gelato are not too many.”
Enter Watt, former Indie Memphis executive director. “Ryan and I have worked before in film and have known each other for years. We always had a good friendship and working relationship,” Servente says.
Before Indie Memphis, Watt owned a technology company at Emerge Memphis. “The challenge and excitement of growing something new is really what I get excited about,” he says.
“Gelato is not ice cream,” Servente explains. “It’s a part of the same family, but it’s a less fat version of ice cream. The texture is much silkier in ours and a little bit denser as opposed to the cold, almost icy, texture of ice cream. So, it kind of packs more flavor.
“As far as the ingredients go, there’s nothing really revolutionary in the way we make it. It’s more like the process of making it that makes us stand out. We don’t use the gelato machines that mass produce gelato. We just use kitchen mixers and our hands to make it and mix all the ingredients together. ‘Less is more’ is really what applies perfectly to the food-making process in Italy.”
Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza was the first restaurant to carry their gelato. “When the pandemic hit and they had to sort of readjust a little bit of their model, our pre-packaged containers were perfect.”
They’re now up to 15 locations, including High Point Grocery, Cordelia’s Market, Lucchesi’s Ravioli & Pasta Company, Ciao Bella Italian Grill, and David Grisanti’s Italian Restaurant. It’s available on Saturdays at the Downtown and Cooper-Young farmers markets.
Zio Matto’s six flavors include stracciatella. “A very popular flavor for gelato. The way we do it is Italian sweet cream with chocolate chips in it.”
The new bicycle/cart is ready to roll. “It’s not the easiest thing to ride,” Watt admits. “It’s nice to roll up and maybe park and serve gelato.”
But, he says, “Right now, we’re a pretty small team. Our plan is to use [the bicycle] for bookings. You may see it out and about so we can get the word out. Maybe it will become a league of bikes, and we’ll have to hire riders, people that can run the carts for us.”
And, like any “Good Humor Man” vehicle, Zio Matto’s bicycle comes with the proper accessory: “It does have a little bell,” Servente says.
