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    Ice Cream News

    Acclaimed ice cream shop edged out of storefront in Dallas' Bishop Arts

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jun 20, 2023 | 2:29 pm
    Azucar ice cream

    Azucar ice cream cone.

    Photo courtesy of Azucar

    After five years in Dallas' Bishop Arts District, an acclaimed Miami-born ice cream shop has been given the boot. Azucar Ice Cream, located at 269 N. Bishop Ave., is leaving the space at the end of July, to be replaced by a location of Botolino Gelato Artigianale, a Dallas gelato chain.

    Azucar owner Suzy Batlle says they are not leaving voluntarily. Azucar had a five-year lease for the space which expired at the end of March.

    Batlle says she was given the impression by her landlord, Exxir Capital, that Azucar would be able to extend the lease for another five years.

    "Our lease expired March 31," Batlle says. "It did include an option to renew. Unfortunately, we started negotiating after the renewal option period. So Exxir was legally able to not renew us. But that doesn't mean it was right to do so and we should have been allowed the right to match other offers and keep our lease."

    Azucar, an artisanal ice cream shop known for its Cuban and tropical flavors, was founded in Miami in 2011. They've earned numerous awards and nods in national magazines such as Bon Appetit. The Dallas shop opened in 2018, and a second Florida location opened in February 2023.

    Batlle became familiar with Bishop Arts while visiting her brother and mother, who resided in Dallas. She took out a $250,000 loan to build the store, at a time when Exxir's new development at Melba Street wasn't yet complete.

    "We didn't even have a sidewalk in front," she says.

    With her lease about to end, Batlle says she and her team met in February with Exxir CEO Michael Nazerian, who assured them they could re-sign for another five years. But Nazerian, seeking backup tenants, had already contacted Botolino founder Carlo Gattini.

    "Michael said, 'I have a friend who makes ice cream who wants this unit,'" Batlle says.

    "I said, 'I've been here for five years, I built it from ground up, and during that five years, we had two years of COVID,'" she says.

    "He asked if we would match what [Botolino] would pay, and I said, 'Of course,'" she says.

    But more than a week after Batlle was expecting to receive a new contract, she got an email from Nazerian stating that the space would no longer be hers.

    "I spoke at length to the small business owner that currently has the space under LOI and – though he was sympathetic – he was not willing to rescind our agreement," Nazerian said in his email. "Once I've given my word to someone – and that is what I consider an LOI to be – I feel duty bound to honor that," Nazerian said.

    "LOI" is a "letter of intent" – a written document in which two parties agree to do business together.

    In his email to Batlle, Nazerian says they tried to be "excessively fair" by "allowing opportunities to extend on favorable terms despite the lapsed renewal option."

    A spokesperson for Exxir says that "Azucar has brought much joy to the neighborhood and to Exxir as one of our first tenants. They've contributed greatly to the charm of the Bishop Arts District for over five years. We're very sad to see them go and truly hope they will stay close!"

    For Gattini, this will be the third Botolino, following the original on Greenville Avenue and a second location at Preston Royal. He says he hopes to have the Bishop Arts shop open in the fall.

    "I was offered the location, we came to an agreement, that's all I know," he says.

    Batlle recalls Gattini visiting her shop in July 2018, right after she opened. "He didn't say hello or congratulations – just, 'I need a store here'," she says.

    Mindful of keeping her employees on the payroll, Batlle stayed open in Dallas during the pandemic. She also has a loyal following for her ice cream. These are reasons for her to stay, and she's currently shopping for a new location.

    "We have an amazing ice cream maker here in Dallas, we make all our ice cream on site," she says. "I would love to keep her employed."

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    Ice Cream News

    Brooklyn Italian ice & ice cream shop makes Texas debut in Richardson

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 7, 2025 | 5:05 pm
    Uncle Louie G's
    scontent-dfw5-3.xx.fbcdn.net
    Uncle Louie G's

    A small, artisan frozen dessert shop from Brooklyn has made its Texas debut: Called Uncle Louie G's Italian Ice & Ice Cream, it's now open in Richardson at 7522 Campbell Rd., where it's scooping up Italian ice, ice cream, and related frozen desserts with a real authentic East Coast vibe.

    Uncle Louie G's was founded by namesake Louie G. decades ago, then expanded by family members in the 2000s. It's now owned by brother-and-sister team Melissa and Ernie Aiello, and has 10 locations in the New York-New Jersey-Staten Island area. It's famous for its blue-striped awning, and flavors with tribute names like NYPD Blue, FDNY Cherry, Coney Island Cotton Candy, Holi Cannoli, and Soprano Spumoni.

    DFW is big on shaved ice, which differs from Italian ice both in texture and ingredients. Italian ice is smooth and creamy, like sorbet, and is made by churning ingredients — water, fruit, sugar — just as you churn ice cream. Shaved ice is a block of ice that's shaved, then flavored with syrup.

    Unlike the sugar and flavoring used by many shaved ice vendors, Uncle Louie G's The Italian ice is made with real fruit. And its ice cream is 14 percent butterfat (Haagen Dazs is 14 to 16 percent).

    They have nearly 50 flavors of ice and 34 flavors of ice cream, some with a Northeast slant like Spumoni, Maple Walnut, and Black Razzberry. There are novel fruit flaves like banana, cantaloupe, watermelon, and passion fruit; rich decadent flavors like pistachio, creamsicle, and chocolate peanut-butter cup; and quirky, inventive flavors like blue bubble gum, cake batter, chocolate jelly ring, cotton candy, and sweetish fish.

    Ice cream flavors range from rocky road to rum raisin to salted caramel to chocolate Nutella to butter pecan. Stores choose a smaller selection to feature daily.

    Milkshakes also have a Northeast vibe, with flavors such as blackout and old-fashioned black and white, featuring chocolate syrup with vanilla ice cream. There are also iced coffee drinks, sundaes, ice cream floats, old fashioned egg cream, and a frozen hot chocolate.

    The Richardson location is a franchise from Zabi Surti and her husband, who left their careers in healthcare and the aviation industry and moved here three years ago.

    "We previously lived in Savannah, Georgia, and would go get Italian ice," Surti says. "When we moved to Dallas, the Texas heat got to us, and we went looking for something sweet, light, and refreshing. But there were no Italian ice places here."

    They loved Uncle Louie because of the quality and the fact that the menu offers something for everyone — from avowed ice cream fans to dairy-free. The space has 4 to 5 tables inside and an outside patio.

    "We looked at many locations but we wanted to be part of a nice neighborhood with residents who would appreciate this kind of gourmet shop," Surti says. "The university is nearby, the neighborhood is great, and the area does not have anything like it — capturing the essence of classic Italian frozen desserts with a modern twist."

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