Frost, A Gelato Shoppe is a privately owned gelato

Gelato

Gelato is the italian word for ice cream and sorbet. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. Indeed, gelato, just like ice cream, is made with Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fresh fruit and nut purees....

 company located in Tucson, Arizona. The company, started in 2005 by two University of Arizona

University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

 alumni, has three stores in the Tucson area and has earned many awards and accolades since its inception. The company's main product is authentic Italian-style gelato and sorbet that is made on location daily with ingredients imported from Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 itself, made with Italian machinery and showcased in Italian display cases. Frost also serves an array of gelato-based items such as gelato cakes and blended beverages.

History

Frost was started in May, 2005 by Jeff Kaiserman and Stephen Ochoa after a trip to Italy.

After taking the courses at "Gelato University" in North Carolina, Kaiserman and Ochoa decided they wanted to make their store as authentic as possible and brought in a master gelato chef from Bologna, Italy named Nazario Melchionda to help them open their store. They helped him obtain an O-1 visa

O-1 Visa

An O visa is a classification of non-immigrant temporary worker visa granted by the United States to aliens "who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or...

, and he added his expertise to the company.

In April, 2010, Kaiserman and Ochoa began accepting applications for new nationwide franchises with the goal to have some new stores open by early 2011.

Awards

Frost has been recognized throughout the city of Tucson for accomplishments ranging from best ice cream/gelato to outstanding business growth. Some of the awards the company and its owners have received:

• April, 2006 - Emergent Entrepreneurs Award from the Eller College of Management
  Eller College of Management
  The Eller College of Management is a business and public administration school at the University of Arizona located in Tucson, Arizona. The Eller College of Management began in 1913 as bachelor's degree program in commerce before becoming the University of Arizona School of Business and Public...
  
  at The University of Arizona
• January, 2009 - Best Ice Cream shop from the readers of Tucson Lifestyle Magazine (fifth consecutive)
• September, 2009 - Best Ice Cream in Tucson from Tucson Weekly magazine (second consecutive)
• October, 2009 - Wells Fargo Copper Cactus Award for Business Growth
• November, 2009 - Best Place to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth from Tucson Home Magazine