Gelato Messina has finally made it to New York, but its first store in the city won’t look much like a standard gelato counter. Opening on the Lower East Side, Softville is a new soft serve concept created with long-time collaborator Studio Jeremyville, pairing Messina’s made-from-scratch gelato approach with an art-filled space designed to function as much like a creative hangout as a dessert shop. “We’ve had our sights set on New York for a long time, and we didn’t want to open just another dessert shop. Most soft serve starts with a pre-made mix. Ours starts with fresh milk and the same techniques we’ve spent more than 20 years perfecting with gelato. Doing it with our friends at Studio Jeremyville, who have been part of Messina from the very beginning, makes New York feel like home,” said Messina founder Nick Palumbo. The soft serve itself sticks closely to the way Messina has always worked. There are no pre-made mixes, with each batch made fresh using milk from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy in the Hudson Valley. Non-dairy options will also be available. Five signature sundaes lead the opening menu, including a very Australian Pavlova Sundae with mango and yoghurt soft serve, baked meringue, raspberry gel, passionfruit gel, vanilla pudding and macerated strawberries. The Dulce con Churros Sundae will be familiar to Messina regulars, combining dulce de leche soft serve with dulce flan, milk crumb, warm chocolate sauce, hot cinnamon churros and sea salt. Customers can also build their own, choosing from a rotating selection of sauces, crunches, baked additions and toppings made daily in the open kitchen. The menu will keep changing after opening, with seasonal specials led by Eva Wintersteen, formerly Executive Pastry Chef across the Il Buco restaurants and Head Chef at Supermoon Bakehouse. She is working alongside Gelato Messina Executive Chef Tom Mitchell, bringing a New York pastry perspective into Messina’s gelato world. Softville itself stretches across 2,500 square feet behind an original 1920s curved glass shopfront at 137 Orchard Street. Interiors by Sarah Carpenter mix sculpture, art installations, collectable ceramics and designer objects with rotating exhibitions from Jeremyville and guest artists. The location puts it among some serious Lower East Side company, close to Perrotin New York, The Merchant, Wildair and Russ & Daughters. The Jeremyville connection goes back more than two decades. Since Messina opened its first Sydney store in 2002, the studio has created murals and artwork for its venues, often drawing directly from the neighbourhood around each store. More recently, Studio Jeremyville also led the design direction for Messina’s supermarket gelato range. “This is a new cultural destination that blends art, community and cult desserts in a way that’s never been done before in New York City,” said Megan Mair, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Studio Jeremyville. “Softville is about creating a space where people can gather, experience creativity in unexpected ways, and leave feeling inspired.” That relationship will become even more visible in New York through the Softville Creative Club, which will host drawing clubs, creative workshops and cultural programming led by Jeremyville and guest artists. Softville opens at 137 Orchard Street on October 1. Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.