Simply in time for Nationwide Ice Cream Day, D.C. landed the nation’s first-ever Greek ice cream store—operated by two LGBTQ neighborhood leaders.
On July 20, Yala Greek Ice Cream (3143 N St., N.W.) opened its brilliant blue doorways at N and Wisconsin Avenue within the coronary heart of Georgetown, marking the primary time a Greek ice cream store has opened within the U.S.
Chrys Kefalas and Salah Czapary are the duo behind the undertaking. Kefalas, a proud Greek and vp of name technique on the Nationwide Affiliation of Producers, joined forces with Czapary, a former MPD officer and D.C.’s former Nightlife and Tradition Officer of Palestinian-Hungarian descent. Collectively, they’ve infused each scoop with the flavors of their Mediterranean roots—and their shared queer id.
The thought for Yala traces again greater than 40 years, to a Greek island the place Kefalas’ household spent summers.
“My enterprise accomplice and our CEO, Chrys Kefalas—he’s Greek—and when he was younger, he grew up going to an ice cream store on a [Greek] island the place his household is from,” mentioned Czapary. “His household has at all times been part of the meals trade.”
In the course of the pandemic, the 2 pals reconnected over a shared interest: making home made ice cream. What began as a quarantine distraction advanced right into a marketing strategy.
“It’s at all times been a operating joke for me that after I retire, I might open an ice cream store,” Czapary mentioned. “When [Chrys] had the chance to convey these recipes from Greece to the U.S., he got here to me and mentioned, ‘Why don’t we do it now?’ It out of the blue grew to become very actual.”
After months of taste-testing Kefalas’s Papou’s (grandfather’s) recipes at dwelling, the duo started scouting areas, sourcing elements, and growing a model that honored their roots.
The identify “Yala” is a mix of influences: “It’s a play off the phrase in Greek for milk (γάλα), but it surely’s additionally spelled in a means that one would say ‘yalla,’ which in Arabic means ‘let’s go,’” mentioned Czapary. “It’s a play off of our shared heritages.”
So what’s Greek ice cream, precisely? Czapary says it’s someplace between gelato and conventional American types. “Gelato is just too heavy. American ice cream is just too candy. That is simply good,” he recalled an Italian chef saying after attempting it.
Yala will provide 16 rotating flavors, combining native elements with imports from throughout the Mediterranean. Combine-ins like pistachios are sourced from EU international locations, whereas milk comes from Maryland “A2” cows, which some say is less complicated to digest.
“There’s going to be traditional hits like mint chocolate chip, vanilla, and chocolate,” he mentioned. “However there’s additionally going to be flavors that we’re bringing from Greece—like Greek yogurt with tart cherry, and one other with orange preserves.”
When requested for a favourite, Czapary was fast to reply: “I’m a pistachio man. I advised Chrys, ‘I’m solely going to do that if we are able to make the perfect pistachio.’ And I feel it’s the finest.”
His shut second? “Mornings with Thea,” a Greek yogurt taste with orange protect. “It’s not a taste folks gravitate to instantly, however I feel when folks attempt it, they’re going to like it.”
However Yala is about extra than simply dessert.
“What we’re actually hoping to convey—past only a actually nice product—is the sensation you get whenever you go to an ice cream store in Greece,” Czapary mentioned. “A homey really feel of a family-owned place that actually welcomes everybody.”
The values behind the store—Φιλοξενία (Philoxenia, or welcoming all), Αγάπη (Love), and Κοινωνία (Neighborhood)—are painted throughout its partitions. Czapary mentioned these stem not solely from their Mediterranean roots but additionally their identities as LGBTQ males.
“A variety of our group wears a shirt that claims, ‘all flavors welcome,’” he mentioned. “It’s a nod at how we really feel: it is a area the place everybody can come and revel in nice ice cream. However it’s additionally a tribute to Chrys’s grandfather— who was identified to be somebody who welcomed everybody, who loved being a number, and offering the perfect product to folks. We would like that area to replicate that.”
The put up Scooping heritage and Pleasure: Inside D.C.’s latest ice cream store appeared first on Washington Blade: LGBTQ Information, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Homosexual Information.
