Starting with just a taste of her Grandfather’s handmade gelato, founder Cristiana Ginatta started her life-long romance with the Italian dessert at a young age. Growing up in Italy, everywhere she traveled led to new flavors – each region specializing in a unique recipe with local ingredients and techniques. As a young woman, she attended culinary school, focusing on the art of traditional gelato-making and perfected her skills in one of the finest family-run gelaterias in Turin, Italy.

In 1997 Cristiana, her husband Ugo and his son Vincenzo moved to Dallas, Texas. The Ginattas soon found that what they missed most about the Old World was the wonderful flavors of Italy – the delicious gelati and the dark, rich espresso. They decided that in Dallas, their family’s mission was to share these incredible flavors with their new hometown. In 2000, with a lot of hard work and dozens of new gelato recipes Paciugo (an Italian word meaning “messy concoction”) was born. Over time, Paciugo spread to dozens of locations all over North America. From father to daughter, from the Old Country to the New World –  The Ginattas want to share the gelato love with you and your family.