I’m really excited about ice cream and I want to share my excitement with you. You see, this isn’t about a pint of Ben & Jerry’s that you can get at the grocery store. This is not only next level ice cream, but the story behind it is the stuff even a Hollywood screenwriter couldn’t create.
As a storyteller, myself, when I see that explosive combination of a great product (food or otherwise) with a great story behind it, I like to embrace and support the effort.
I remember having this same reaction when I was first introduced to the Georgetown Cupcake sisters, who grew up watching their immigrant Greek grandmother baking. Decades later, after after they established themselves in their respective corporate jobs– one in fashion and the other run finance, they did the unthinkable during uncertain economic times and left their jobs to open a cupcake bakery.
Today, Georgetown Cupcake is an empire and Katherine and Sophie are the epitome of building a story-centric brand– the most successful cupcake bakeries in the United States that included in its orbit two New York Times best-selling cookbooks, numerous partnerships with companies like Williams Sonoma, bakeries in some of the country’s swankiest neighborhoods and a mail order business that ships trend of thousands of cupcakes to birthday parties and other special occasions throughout the nation.
But let’s get back to the ice cream. Remember what I said about a Hollywood scriptwriter not being able to write this screenplay?
The “star” (if I may continue to use film references) is a second-generation Baltimore native named Chrysovalantis Kefalas, who once ran for the U.S. Senate and was called by the Baltimore Sun the person “best positioned” to serve “with distinction in Washington,” citing his “tremendous resume of experience.”
This “experience” included serving as speechwriter to the U.S. Attorney General, counsel to the Governor of Maryland, and a litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice.
He didn’t win that election but the experience he gained would set him on a different path, taking a job as Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy at the National Association of Manufacturers– the largest industrial trade association in the United States.
Right about now you’re probably wondering when the ice cream enters the picture and scratching your head trying to understand why I’m writing an opinion piece about it.
Citing a deep dedication to his roots and his innate desire to honor his grandfather and the ideals that he carried with him throughout his life and eventually passed onto the next generations, Chrysovalantis launched Yala, the first-ever Greek ice cream brand in the United States– complete with a shop in Georgetown that is opening in the coming weeks.
What makes Yala Greek? It’s all part of the amazing brand story that Kefalas has developed. It’s not only the way the ice cream is made, but many of the secondary ingredients that will be added to the locally-sourced farm-fresh milk, will be imported from Greece.
From the founder’s pen:
I’m honoring my grandfather—my Papou—by bringing generations of Greek ice cream-making tradition to America. Yala Greek isn’t just a company; it’s a legacy project and a love letter to family, heritage and making things the best. Inspired by summers in Greece and memories in my Papou’s Baltimore kitchen, every scoop is hand-crafted with farm-fresh milk and Mediterranean-sourced ingredients. We’re building the first Greek ice cream shop in the U.S., rooted in tradition, driven by kindness, and designed to make people feel like family. It’s Fresh. Greek. Better.
I think you understand now why I’m so excited. This is yet another great expression of our heritage, served in an ice cream scoop but done in such a thoughtful way that includes a taste of the old world but is not held hostage by it.
This isn’t My Big Fat Greek Wedding kitsch. This is, as Chrysovalantis says in all of his marketing materials, the very best of everything– from raw ingredients, to brand, to story.
Unless you live in the DC area, there isn’t much we can do to support this effort, except sign up for the email newsletter and follow Yala’s social media channels: Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok
This all may sound like an advertorial or a paid piece, but I assure you– Chrysovalantis doesn’t even know I’m writing this and I have not and will not accept any compensation in return for my excitement.
A free sample, or an overloaded scoop? Of course I’ll take that when I eventually visit the shop.
