Not long ago, as Curt Krueger sat down at a local fast food restaurant, he spied a middle-aged woman sitting in front of him who was weeping. After wolfing his sandwich down, he asked if he could sit with her. He soon found out she was homeless. Because of the generosity of our benefactors, he bought her something to eat, gave her gloves, purchased groceries, and was able to get her off the streets.
One of the things we hate to do around here is to say ‘no’ to a request for help. However, since we must live within our means, we can only spend what we are given. This is the reason we have opened Gianna’s Java & Gelato on 23rd and O streets in the heart of our St. Joseph’s Center campus. It is just another way of generating funds to assist needy individuals and families who we come across in need… many of whom are in tears.
Our new venture is a place where individuals can come for coffee, handcrafted gelato made in-house, along with something to eat. Our hours are 6 a.m. till 9 p.m. We have a drive-thru for those who are in a hurry going to or from work, or anywhere else. We even have a beautiful fireplace for those who want to warm themselves by the fire with a hot cup of coffee.
Our breakfast menu includes the now-famous G.U.B.R. (Gianna Ultimate Breakfast Round—which contains 100% whole grain, fiber, cinnamon and brown sugar and 0 trans fats), several breakfast sandwiches, made-to-order omelets, cinnamon rolls, and scones. Our lunch and dinner menu includes Italian, American or veggie roll-ups, sandwiches, and grab-and-go salads, to name a few.
Our La Marzotto espresso machine is imported from Italy and we have our own special blends of coffee. Our assistant manager Dave Walbrecht was specially trained to make gelato right here on site with our gelato machine and ingredients both imported from Italy. In addition, our gelato display case is also from Italy as our gelato is served at the proper temperature.
Bishop Conley blessed our new shop Jan. 14 and our official grand opening is Friday, Jan. 15. We invite you to come and visit Gianna’s Java & Gelato — good coffee, good food and a great cause! I would like to thank God for his graces in helping us get this off the ground and our two anonymous donors who made this possible.
Please pray for the success of this new endeavor as we strive to help more needy individuals and families, and please remember not to give up coffee or gelato for Lent! St. Gianna, pray for us!
