North County New Business News: Gelati & Peccati & More!

 

The thing I like about North County and Encinitas in general is the creativity. Whether it's building a brand from the ground up like Vuori or Nixon, to its art scene like the Institute of Contemporary art or the Surfing Madonna, to it's endless unique food scene, there's something new around every corner. 

Case in point: Gelati & Peccati. While not new to San Diego county (they actually opened a location in North Park in 2019 as well as being a sister store to the hip Buona Forchetta in Leucadia), thew new location in Encinitas is special in its own right. Taking over the former Angelo's Burger location on the corner of E Street and Highway 101, the building had some hurdles to overcome...

...namely it's double drive-thru that cut through the middle of the building. I was fortunate to run into one of the owners Saturday morning, Giovanni Bonomi, and he had let me know it was a long process to get the building up and running- mainly due to the old structure not being up to code. Thankfully that's behind them now and they are officially open for business. What's great about the Gelati & Peccati is 3 things. First is the location in the heart of Encinitas. Encinitas has no off-season anymore and they are right in the thick of things. Secondly is the structure being split in 2 due to the double drive-thrus. One of the drive-thrus has now been closed off and transformed into an outdoor seating area (which is awaiting furniture). The other drive-thru was saved and will be open in the near future. What will the drive-thru be serving? A MASSIVE menu AND coffee for those of you on the way to work in the mornings (my wife couldn't be happier). 

The split of the buildings due to the drive-thrus also gave the owners some creative liberty to make each section of the restaurant have its own feel. In particular, there is an area to sit and eat Gelato. 

Don't like to have dessert before dinner? The come on over to the pizza section with gourmet slices to go. 

Or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself and you just need a cup o' joe with a pastry to get yourself going in the mornings- they've got that too. 

Not a big pastry/pizza/coffee/gelato person? That's the 3rd thing I like about this spot- Gelati & Peccati has something for everyone. Just head over to their diner (or drive-thru) and order:

• avocado toast
• crab cake benedict
• french toast
• steak & fries
• breakfast burrito
• ham & cheese omlette
• meatball panini
• turkey burger
• mac & cheese
• caesar salad
• chicken pot pie
• and finish it off with a chocolate shake or apple pie
• ...and that's only the start of it!

So for all of you that go out with friends and family and no one can make up their mind where to go- problem solved. They will also be open early and closing late (make sure to call beforehand for exact times). 

As I mentioned before, I like it when businesses think outside the box. In Gelati & Peccati's case, they have a creative menu and they made lemonade out of lemons when it came to the building's unique structure. They could have easily tore the building down and made yet another coffee, Italian, or Mexican restaurant- but instead they got funky and will fit in the neighborhood just fine.