Christopher D’Emilio, owner of D’Emilio’s Old World Ice Treats, is taking a risk, but he knows a thing or two about taking chances.
"Before this, I used to be a casino dealer at the Sugarhouse Casino," he said, but his passion was always making sorbets.
He used to make them in his free time by renting commissary spaces and selling at farmers markets via a traveling cart. Recently, his friend Mike Strauss, of Mike's BBQ at 11th and Morris streets, convinced him to open a store.
"My goals were just to do the farmers markets. That was going to be my big summer. And now, we're opening a shop on Passyunk Avenue," he said. "That's a little surreal."
D’Emilio learned to make sorbet from his grandmother when he was 7.
"Grandma had us stay busy in the kitchen whenever we were getting Sunday dinner prepared," he remembered. "We would bug her a lot, so she would set us to task — cutting strawberries, squeezing lemons, zesting them."
In the new store at 1928 E. Passyunk Ave., D’Emilio will feature several homemade flavors of sorbet and gelato. And since he took over the space that formerly housed Philly Flavors, D’Emilio inherited their soft serve machine.
"We're just going to take a chance, and worst-case scenario, I'm right back where I was with two carts, completely happy — before Mike Strauss decided to ruin my entire life with this shop," he joked.