Briellies Gelato & Cafe: How the son of Main Street’s Gutiz Bakery brought Italian-style gelato next door

Walk up Main Street past the Town Green and you can’t miss it: a bright blue building at No. 529 with white trim, a white porch railing and “Briellies Gelato & Cafe” across the front. Inside is a long glass case of gelato and sorbet in every color, a pastry case of cakes by the slice, and a menu that runs from cappuccino to mangonadas.

Briellies opened in June 2024, and in a little over two years it has collected a 4.9-star rating across more than 320 Google reviews. It sits right next door to Gutiz Bakery & Cafe, and that is no accident. Here is the family story behind the blue building, what makes the gelato different, and what to order on your first visit.

A son of the bakery next door

Owner Kevin Gutierrez grew up around food on this stretch of Main Street. His parents own Gutiz Bakery & Cafe at 545 Main St., and he worked there when he was younger, according to a May 2026 profile in The Comet, the East Haven High School student newspaper. The paper reported that he learned most of what he knows about running a business from his parents.

The idea came from a trip to Italy. “It’s nothing like what we have over here. So I feel like bringing something that people aren’t used to would work,” he told the paper. In Italy, he said, he learned the science and history behind gelato. “They basically told me how to formulate my own recipes.” Briellies opened on June 22, 2024.

State business records list Briellies LLC as an active Connecticut company registered in March 2024 at 529 Main St., with Kevin Gutierrez and Andrea Osorio Perez as its principals. The filing lists the business as minority-owned, and its mailing address is 545 Main St., the bakery next door.

Why gelato tastes different

If you have ever wondered why gelato seems denser and silkier than a scoop from the supermarket freezer, Gutierrez explained the difference to The Comet. Gelato is served at about 10 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with about zero for ice cream, so it doesn’t freeze your tongue and you get more flavor. Because it is served warmer, it needs less sugar, and it uses more milk and less air, so it is denser.

Every flavor is made in house. “We’re using 100% clean ingredients, we use cane sugar instead of corn syrup, and no emulsifiers,” he said. The banana gelato is made with fresh bananas and the strawberry with fresh strawberries. For tropical fruits he can’t get in Connecticut, the shop uses high-quality pulps instead of powders.

The case rotates. Oreo is the best seller, Gutierrez told the paper, and tiramisu and cheesecake flavors are close behind. Guava cheesecake was the student reporter’s pick. “I try to have flavors you’re not [going to] find everywhere,” Gutierrez said. Some come from trends in other areas or customer requests, and some are “just stuff that popped into my head that I thought was interesting.” His own favorite, he said, was tiramisu when the shop opened; lately it has been cheesecake.

What customers say

Reviewers on Google keep coming back to three things: the fruit flavors, the number of dairy-free sorbets and the staff who let you sample before you commit.

“Best gelato I have had in New England,” wrote Christopher, who said the number of vegan sorbets “was outstanding,” not an afterthought. He had guava cheesecake and pistachio, and said the caramelized banana “had me fighting my seatbelt to go back in.” He also noted the shop was “immaculate inside” with “tons of parking.”

Mary recommends the fruit side of the case: “If you like fruits flavors, I recommend trying Coconut, Mango, Passion Fruit, Strawberry and Berries.” She also likes the strawberry cheesecake and hazelnut. Not every flavor was a win for her; she said the Tres Leches “wasn’t what I was hoping for.”

Adam wrote that the staff are “happy to let you taste before you order,” and that his family “toured most of the gelato options in New Haven County and our verdict was unanimous. This place is the real deal.”

And Alexandra pointed out that Briellies is more than a scoop shop: “They also bake their own croissants, cookies, brownies and cakes by the slice or a whole cake for a special occasion. They even make smoothies.” The flavors, she added, “rotate them all the time.”

What to order

Prices below are from Briellies’ online ordering menu this week and can change.

A cup of gelato or sorbet

Start at the case and ask for tastes. A single scoop is $2.96. A small cone of gelato is $3.70, a medium $5.69 and a large $6.20. If you want to take some home, a jar is $10.66. First-timers can follow the regulars: Oreo, a cheesecake flavor, or one of the fruit sorbets if you want to skip dairy.

The mangonada

This is the one people photograph. Briellies builds it with fresh mango and mango sorbet, then adds chamoy, Valentina hot sauce and Tajín, for $9.36. It is sweet, tangy and a little spicy all at once.

Strawberries and cream

Fresh strawberries, store-made vanilla whipped cream and strawberry sauce, $9.88. If you like the strawberry sorbet, this is the dessert version.

A sundae or banana split

The sundae menu includes an Apple Pie Gelato Sundae for $9.35, and the shop’s own photos show a classic banana split with whipped cream, sprinkles, cherries and wafer straws.

Fruit cups and cholados

There is a full fruit side of the menu: fruit salad ($9.36 small, $12.48 large), cholados, shaved ice with fresh fruit, fruit syrup, walnuts, shaved coconut and sweetened condensed milk ($8.74 small, $9.88 large), snow cones ($3.99 and $4.99) and fruit smoothies (a large is $8.32). Milkshakes start at $6.09, and special shakes are $7.80 and $8.50.

Cake by the slice and pastries

The pastry case is where Briellies shows its bakery roots. Slices include a Chocolate Trilogy mousse cake ($5.72), Tres Leches ($4.68), Toasted Almond ($4.56) and Biscoff cheesecake ($4.47), plus an Oreo cheesecake cup ($6.75). Pastries are cheap enough to add on: a plain croissant is $2.08, a pain au chocolat $2.24, and guava and cream cheese, apple, pineapple or Nutella pastries are $3.28. Brownies are $2.60 and chocolate chip cookies $2.24.

Coffee

If you just need a pick-me-up, a small Americano is $2.34, a large drip coffee $2.24, a small iced coffee $2.60 and tea $2.03.

What’s next

Business has been growing. “Signs are positive, and hopefully, within the next year or two, we can save enough capital to launch another location,” Gutierrez told The Comet. He also wants a cart for fairs and parties and packaged gelato to sell in local stores, though each would need its own permits.

His advice to new business owners comes down to presentation, product and service. “People really care about cleanliness, and it’s very important to me,” he said. And: “Without the customers, you’re nothing.” Reviewers seem to have noticed both.

Before you go

Where: 529 Main St., East Haven, next door to Gutiz Bakery & Cafe. There is a parking lot.
Phone: (203) 903-5028.
Hours: Hours change by day and season. The shop’s online ordering page listed 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. Call or check the ordering page before you go.
Order ahead: briellies.smartonlineorder.com, or see the Google listing for directions and reviews.
Good to know: Lots of dairy-free sorbets, and staff will let you taste before you order.

Have a favorite Briellies flavor? Tell us, and we may add it to this story.