Sticks and stones will break your bones, but not gelato on sticks…

by Alexander Quebec

You remember eating Popsicles as a kid right? They were cold, sweet, sticky but amazing on hot summer days in the backyard with your siblings and friends. As an adult, you probably might not give them a second thought compared to all the alternatives out there, but there’s one restaurant out there that’s aiming to make them cool again…literally.

You may have seen the name Popbar before, but what is Popbar? Billed as “handcrafted gelato on a stick”, the company has over 18 Locations across 6 countries, with 7 in the USA (and more coming soon). The chain uses fresh ingredients in all of their gelatos, sorbets and yogurts, then allows customers to make a custom made ice cream bar with toppings like chocolate, nuts and the ever popular waffle cone. All of their bars are made in house with fresh ingredients such as real fruit and dairy, with flavors such as Green Tea, Hazelnut, Classic Vanilla and more.

I had the chance to sit down with the owner of Northern California’s only Popbar location, Lunique Le. She gave me her take on why Popbar is ready to take on Northern California

Alex Q: I was doing some reading on Popbar, its an international company, but that this is the only location in Northern California, So, tell me about what made you want to start a Popbar Location?

Lunique Le: I was in the frozen yogurt business before, and I came across on YouTube a segment from the Food Channel network, and I thought it was interesting “Gelato on a stick”, and I figured well, I did a little research and I found that there’s one location down south, in LA, and they did extremely well, and this would be a great great concept to bring up north.

AQ: Awesome, so tell me more about the gelato on a stick.

LL: Our products are made in house with all natural ingredients. You get to customize it any way you like, full dip, half dip, drizzel milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, we had different toppings, For the kids, we have chocolate sprinkles and the most popular topping is the waffle cone.

AQ: So the waffle cone is the most popular topping, so which one is your most popular flavor ?

LL: The most popular are green tea, we call it the “Green Tea Kit Kat” . Most people come in and dip it in chocolate and cover it in waffle cone. The next favorite is the Hazelnut, which we call the “Ferro Rocher”, same thing, we dip in chocolate and hazelnut and waffle cone

AQ: Nice, I had your strawberry cheesecake last time, that was one of my personal favorites. I also see you that you guys do sorbet too?

LL:Right, Sorbet is for people that are…

AQ: Lactose Intolerant?

LL: Yeah, that’s it

Both: [Laughs]

LL: it’s a good option, you don’t want customers who come in and say “No, i cant have the gelato stuff” Our sorbets are made with fresh fruit, so you can taste the fruit.

AQ: My last question, What flavor do you enjoy?

LL: My favorite is the banana, we make it with real banana and dip it in chocolate, and usually I have it with Almonds and Waffle cone.

AQ: I appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions

LL: Thank you for stopping by.

Folks, if you’re in Saratoga, cool down with a bit of gelato on a stick from Popbar, and say Hi to Lunique, she’s ready give your hot summer day a much needed sweet retreat.