HALLOWELL — Ciccarelli’s Gelateria, formerly known as Ciccarelli’s Market, Deli & Gelato, is no longer for sale after the business rebranded to focus more on gelato earlier this year.

The business is owned by the husband and wife team of Michelangelo and Elizabeth Ciccarelli of Farmingdale. Before they purchased the business at 153 Water St. in October 2020, it was Boynton’s Market for 84 years.

The owners put the business on the market roughly four months after purchasing it, however after one potential sale fell through, they opted to rebrand with a heavier emphasis on gelato.

“It was just a change in circumstances,” said Michelangelo Ciccarelli. “My wife helps out now. My kids help out now. It was a dynamic change, and we’re doing more on the gelato side now.”

Initially, he said the business was more of a “corner market,” and while they had always planned to sell gelato at the business, they at first tried to mesh it together with groceries and everything else offered at the store.

“That didn’t work out,” Ciccarelli said, “and that’s when we tried to sell it.”

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He said they closed Ciccarelli’s Market, Deli & Gelato around April to get their feet back underneath them. It reopened as Ciccarelli’s Gelateria in June. The rebranded business has a heavier emphasis on gelato, no longer sells groceries, but still sells tobacco. Looking ahead, he said he plans to acquire an alcohol license for the establishment.

The store offers dairy-free sorbetto for lactose-intolerant customers, sorbetto and gelato shakes gelato cakes, cookies and ice cream, and affogato, which Ciccarelli described as a double shot of espresso with gelato.

“We kind of exploded on the gelato side,” he said.

The store still offers pizza, along with cold and hot sandwiches.

“Just quick things for downtown people who need a quick lunch,” Michelangelo Ciccarelli said, adding that the business also offers delivery via the DoorDash app.

He said rebranding the store and changing the name posed a far greater challenge than the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“One of the reasons the store was sustainable during the pandemic was because people wanted to shop some place smaller and nearby,” Michelangelo Ciccarelli said. “It wasn’t the size of Walmart; it’s a place that could only have 10 people or so at a time, which made them more comfortable.”

The store was remodeled and painted, and new seating was added.

“One side is more like a cafe where you can come in and get a gelato shake and hang out with your friends,” Michelangelo Ciccarelli said.

Next year, he said he’s hoping to purchase a gelato trailer and eventually offer catering.

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