Coperta To Open Doughnut and Gelato Shop Next Door

The space next to Coperta, the year-old classic Italian spot at 400 E. 20th Ave., will not stand vacant for long. The restaurant’s owners, Aileen and Paul Reilly, gear up to re-open it as a gelato and doughnut shop by the end of October.

Previously, the Coperta team operated the space on weekdays as a walk-up espresso bar, serving the usual range of espresso drinks, as well as pastries, breakfast sandwiches and more.

According to Aileen Reilly, the new version keeps the counter-service format and features three to four seats, serving the same gelato and grispelle, a Calabria-style potato doughnut, found on the menu at Coperta since it opened in July 2016.

“It’s really nothing new,” she adds. “We just wanted to open it up to the neighborhood.”

Coperta’s pastry chef Jodi Polson, who previously worked at Glaze, Devil’s Food and Leaf & Crumb, will prepare a few rotating seasonal flavors of gelato, in addition to the restaurant’s signature extra virgin olive variety, according to Aileen.

At Coperta, the grispelle come dusted in cinnamon sugar, topped with caramel sauce, and served five to an order for $8. Aileen says that the next door shop will offer various sizes, but they don’t have a price point yet.

• All Coverage of Coperta [EDEN]