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This is really good news for anyone missing a certain Italian sweet spot that left Roosevelt Field too soon.
Dolce Bella, the short-lived mall kiosk that offered gelato, Italian ices and classic and unique takes on cannolis, will reopen as a brick and mortar location at 3220 Long Beach Road in Oceanside, Greater Long Island has learned.
Brandyn Williams, who founded the Dolce Bella brand as a gelato and Italian ice catering cart service in 2020, opted to not renew his one-year lease at the mall when it ended this past July.
“The kiosk was pretty small,” Williams explained. “We got so much love that I’m going to need a bigger storefront now. It’s definitely a good problem to have.”
The “Dolce boom”
Anyone lucky enough to try Dolce Bella at Roosevelt Field Mall surely remembers the colorful explosion that topped their gelato. The kiosk offered a variety of unique gelato flavors, including cheesecake, hot cocoa and s’mores, which Williams always served with a flavor bubble he dubbed the “Dolce boom,” which emitted smoke when popped, making room for another scoop.
The treatery also offered classic and quirky standard and mini-sized cannolis. Among the candy- and cookie-stuffed favorites were Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, pistachio, rainbow cookie, Nuttella and Oreo.
The forthcoming Oceanside Dolce Bella will offer all these fresh and frozen delights, as well as new creations. Williams teased plans for both Mountain Dew and Sour Patch Kids-flavored gelato, as well as a Lucky Charms cannoli.
“There’s going to be more cannoli flavors [and] crazy gelato flavors,” he said “We’re adding such a flair to everything now.”
Follow the cannoli
Before he started slinging gelato for a living, Williams worked in healthcare administration, but that career path left him unsatisfied. After opening and ultimately closing Cherry Valley deli, which fell victim to adverse business conditions stemming from the COVID-19 shutdowns, he took up serving frozen sweets at weddings, bar mitzvahs and other private events.
His traveling dessert cart enterprise stood steadfast through the pandemic and lead him to his stationary endeavor at Roosevelt Field Mall.
This past January, he recruited business partner Tim Downey, who goes exclusively by “Big Red,” on account of his bushy, ginger-colored beard that hangs low from his face.
Together, the pair has attracted a horde of followers to the Dolce Bella brand online and in-person.
@dolcebella_ny When the owners haven’t left each other side in 27.5 days and tensions start to rise 😳#dolcebella #rooseveltfieldmall #KAYKissCountdown #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #cannolis #lifeissweet #icannoliloveyou #foodie #foodtok #foodtiktok #bigred ♬ original sound – Samthompsonuk
“We started being ourselves with the business through our TikToks,” Williams said. “I threw a one-foot cannoli at his head, breaking it over it, we got [1.6 million views on Instagram] from that. We were just ourselves and people started gravitating more toward us, and that snowballed into them coming to try the product, coming to meet us.”
While Williams and Big Red will continue to entertain their followers on social media, they are gearing up to open their Oceanside location March 1.
“It’s going to be bigger, better and redder,” Williams teased of the new spot, which he expects to be the first of many more to come. “It’s the start of something very big, we’re very excited. Suffolk is going to be next, Queens will come after, and then the city and wherever the cannoli takes us after that.”
Top: Brandyn Williams pops a “Dolce boom” at his former kiosk spot at Roosevelt Field. (Credit: GLI/Nicholas Grasso)
