The Mavi Gelati team entered Australia’s gelati scene in December 2024 with their first store in NSW’s Ulladulla. Word of their mouth-watering gelato spread among locals and has led to the opening of a second store at the Hellenic Club of Canberra this weekend.
Co-owners Nick Vasiliou and Aslan Akbayir are proud to be opening their second store in just 12 months. Aslan, who is also the store’s head chef, has perfected their gelato and is thrilled to bring it to Canberra.
Mavi Gelati’s Canberra store will offer a range of 20 flavours of gelato and sorbet, along with acai, slushies, and their own twist on the classic Mediterranean frappé. They have also mastered a unique mastika and baklava gelato.
Mavi Gelati co-owner Nick spoke with The Greek Herald about the store’s origins and the opening of their Canberra store.
“The product is just unbelievable… I have a sweet tooth and trust me, the gelato is just next level,” Nick said.
Coming from a background in entertainment, Nick teamed up with his friend Aslan to create Mavi Gelati. Choosing Ulladulla as their first store location was an easy choice because they had both worked there before and loved the town’s atmosphere.
“Ulladulla is a fantastic, beautiful town. It’s got a beach nearby… [and] it thrives over the summer period,” he said.
“We get so many people coming through Ulladulla from Canberra. We got massive feedback such as, ‘You need to bring one of these to Canberra. Your gelato is amazing’.”
Based in Canberra, Nick saw a lot of Greek Australians enjoying the store’s gelato which caught the attention of the Hellenic Club of Canberra.
“We use one of the best dairy farms on the South Coast called Tilba. We buy their jersey milk… so it comes straight from the pastures to us. It’s so creamy, it’s just amazing… The Italians are renowned for making gelato but we’ve given them a good shakeup,” he said.
Their Ulladulla store was designed by Canberra design experts SuperCurious, and transports customers to a Greek island. Blue and white fill the walls of the store alongside an image of a Greek goddess.
“A lot of customers do comment when they go into Ulladulla saying, ‘This feels like we’re in Greece.’ And that’s exactly what we were trying to portray, to give it that sort of look,” Nick said.
While the new Canberra store won’t feature the same Greek-inspired colour palette as their Ulladulla store, it instead embraces the Hellenic Club’s aesthetic.
“It’s a beautiful looking store… and the club’s done an amazing job putting that all together for us,” he said.
Mavi Gelati is conveniently positioned near the entrance of the Hellenic Club so anyone walking through can stop for gelato. Nick said he is looking forward to sharing their gelato with new Canberra customers.
“We’re going to make some noise. It’s unbelievable… Come and taste it for yourself and be the judge. It is amazing, it really is,” he said.
Mavi Gelati is set to open this weekend at The Hellenic Club of Canberra. Keep an eye on their Facebook page and website for more information and the chance to try their gelato.
