Here's a twist on our standard restaurant closure: a local establishment closes its doors for greener pastures. As of March 1, the local gelateria in Fullerton's SoCo district has said goodbye.
In business for five sweet years, Frati Gelato Cafe has provided cool delights to local patrons young and old. We only caught wind of the news yesterday, when a restaurant owner asked if we had a chance to stop by on their last day.
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By the time we walked in (around 2:50 p.m.), the gent behind
the display case sadly announced they were temporarily out of gelato. Sure enough, every
single pan on display was scooped clean. He recommended stopping by in a
few hours, when the owner finished another batch. Giving us flashbacks of Irvine Lanes, we drowned our sorrow next door with pastrami and corned beef.
Per their website:
“Two key reasons drove our decision, one being a great opportunity to be in one of the premier travel, food and wine destinations. . .and also very importantly, a desire to be closer to family. As many of you know, Ron's home with his wife (Anthony's Sister) and grandchildren still reside in Northern, CA. It is our desire to be closer as an entire family.
We want to say thank you to all of our supporters. Thank you to the people who helped us get catering spots. Thank you to the people who brought fresh fruit and snacks to the store for us. Thank you to those people who sang our praises. Thank you for listening to Ron's jokes and sharing yours. Thank you for sharing your culinary and travel experiences and your recipes. We were delighted to be part of your lives. We shared in the birth of new additions and we mourned the passing of loved ones. You made us feel like we belonged here and for that we are forever grateful.”
Anthony, Ron and the Frati team
If you make it up to wine country, their future location will be 670 Main St, Napa. By the way, that's just a few doors down from Morimoto Napa. Congratulations Frati! We are sad to see you go, but wish you well on your endeavor. Just don't forget where you came from.
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A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.