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For most families, Italian ice is a summer treat.
For the Aiellos of Wantagh, it’s the family business.
After helping turn Uncle Louie G into a nearly 60-store brand spanning nine states, Melissa and Ernie Aiello have brought the business home, opening a new location at 3580 Park Blvd. in Wantagh, the former home of Otto’s Deli.
The new shop features 72 flavors of Italian ice, hard ice cream and soft serve, along with seasonal offerings that rotate throughout the year, including apple pie and pumpkin flavors in the fall.
“One of our most popular flavors is the Italian ice with chunks of rainbow cookies mixed in,” Melissa told Greater Long Island. “It’s absolutely my favorite.”
The Wantagh location also offers menu items not typically found at other Uncle Louie G stores, including espresso, lattes and cappuccino. The Aiellos said it is also the first location in the franchise to serve crepes.
“We wanted to make the experience here better than anywhere else to get ices,” Melissa said.
The family’s involvement with Uncle Louie G began in 2010, when they bought into the franchise with a location in Yonkers. By 2023, they owned five stores when an opportunity arose to purchase the entire company.
The brand has expanded rapidly since the Aiellos took over. Fifteen new locations have opened, with six more expected in the coming months, including shops in Long Beach and Westhampton Beach.
The Wantagh opening, however, represents more than growth. It is part of a long-term plan to introduce the couple’s four daughters to the business in hopes that they may one day take it over.
“We have four daughters who are a part of the Wantagh community and we opened this store for them,” Ernie said. “We want them to start learning the business in hopes that one day we can pass it along to them.”
Their oldest daughter, Gianna, is also a part owner of the new shop. She said the opportunity feels like a natural next step after growing up around the business.
“Working with the older girls when I was seven years old, I felt so cool,” Gianna said with a laugh. “I was helping out before I could even reach over the counter to give it to the customers. Now, I’m the older one.”
The company now manufactures more than 100 flavors of Italian ice and ice cream at its Staten Island facility.
“I commute to the factory six days a week to make sure everything is right,” Ernie said. “All of our products are homemade, the ice cream is mixed by hand for every single tub that goes out the door.”
That attention to detail has caught the attention of more than just customers.
Uncle Louie G has been invited to participate in the Water Ice Festival in Atlantic City next month, which will bring together vendors from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
But even as the brand continues to grow, Melissa said the reason the family entered the business has not changed.
“How can you not enjoy ices and ice cream?” Melissa said. “It makes everyone happy.”
The Wantagh store is open seven days a week from noon to 10 p.m.
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