Pizza-by-the-slice and gelato-by-the-scoop have arrived in downtown Santa Barbara.
Milio’s Pizza will open on Friday at 801 State Street—a corner previously proposed to be converted into a condominium or boutique hotel. The building was vacant for nearly seven years after the Hoffmann Brat Haus, a German beer restaurant, left the site in 2019.
On the same block, Sweetaly Gelato, a family-owned business, opened on Aug. 1 in Paseo Nuevo. The building was previously occupied by another gelato shop, Tondi Gelato.
The new additions appeal to both locals and tourists, said Caroline Mayhew, Paseo Nuevo’s senior marketing manager.
“From a tourist perspective, everyone kind of compares it (Santa Barbara) to Europe,” she said. “By offering these Italian food options, it kind of feeds into that Euro summer feel.”
Milio’s Pizza
Milio’s specializes in New York-style pizza and is one of the few places on State Street that offers pizza by-the-slice. The store is business partners Kamil Jumale and Miles Robbins’ first restaurant.
Over a 72-hour fermentation process, chefs use a fully organic sourdough recipe crafted by Anthony Falco, a popular chef and pizza consultant, Jumale said.
“They don’t have to go across the country to get a New York slice,” Jumale said.
The restaurant aims to prioritize simple ingredients, Robbins said.
For example, Milio’s cheese and pepperoni pizzas are made with house-made tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano and oregano. Other menu items include white pizza, margherita squares, spicy squares and “The Milio,” which is made with vodka sauce, pecorino romano, fresh mozzarella and chives.
A whole pie ranges from $23 to $30, individual slices are $4.50 to $6 and Sicilian squares are around $6. Milio’s also offers mini garlic focaccia bites for $3 and soft serve for $5.50.
While Milio’s can satisfy customers’ cravings for a classic, scrappy pizza, the dough also tastes more like an artisan bread from a bakery, Robbins said.
“It’s not just that it’s delicious,” he said. “It won’t make you feel bloated. It will make you feel like you can eat like a couple slices without feeling gross.”
The duo met in London in 2019, when Jumale was managing a restaurant and Robbins was completing a culinary apprenticeship. Robbins said they decided to explore State Street as a location after he oversaw a catering company in Santa Barbara and Montecito.
As Milio’s prepares for its opening, Jumale said he is excited for the restaurant to become a staple in the community, where people can bring their families and hang out with their friends before going out.
“It’s a really open market where there’s lots of different foods that people are looking for,” Robbins said. “Here, you have a chance to really do something great.”
Sweetaly Gelato
Owner Francesco Amendola ran a supermarket in northern Italy before he moved to the United States and founded Sweetaly in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2014.
After visiting his daughter while she attended the Santa Barbara City College, Amendola found a sense of familiarity in the European-style architecture downtown—and decided to open up a location there for good.
Sweetaly is the only gelato shop on State Street.
“I just feel like I’m at home,” he said.
The store offers gelato flavors such as ferrero rocher, mint and chips, wild cherry, salted caramel, greek berry, coffee and more. Sweetaly also serves sorbetti, a water-based dessert, with mojito, raspberry, lemon and dark chocolate flavors.
Sweetaly’s prices range from $6.50 to $8.50, and it costs $1.50 extra for a cone. Gelato to-go is $17 for a pint and $23 for a quart.
“Some of the flavors are traditionally Italian flavors—the flavors that I grew up with,” Amendalo said.
The gelato base sits in a pasteurizer overnight to make it creamier and more flavorful, Amendalo said. Then, Sweetaly employees make the gelato fresh every morning starting at 7 a.m.
The shop imports some of its toppings from different parts of Italy, he said, including pistachios from Sicily, hazelnuts from northern Italy and almonds from southern Italy.
Since Tondi Gelato left Paseo Nuevo in November, it created a need for gelato downtown, Amendola said. Now, Sweetaly is looking to address those gaps.
“What we’re bringing is a piece of Italy in Santa Barbara,” he said.
