Vivoli Il Gelato is preparing to open its second Orlando-area location at 153 Sugar Belle Drive inside Flamingo Crossings Town Center in Winter Garden. The shop is scheduled to open to the public at 10 a.m. on September 18, following a September 17 preview during which the first 500 customers will receive a free affogato, according to Orlando Sentinel.
Vivoli is taking over a storefront formerly occupied by Ben & Jerry's, which closed at the end of 2024. The company completed a front-of-house renovation and brought in equipment from Italy, according to WhatNow. The larger space is also intended to expand production beyond the brand's original Disney Springs counter, which had outgrown its 900-square-foot footprint, the Orlando Sentinel reports. A location-specific menu item will be the Pink Flamingo shake, made with vanilla gelato, strawberry sauce, pink sprinkles and a flamingo straw.
A Flamingo Crossings Debut Years in the Making
Flamingo Crossings Town Center is a Disney-owned, 200,000-square-foot outdoor retail and dining complex at the western entrance to Walt Disney World along State Road 429 and Hartzog Road, according to Florida Neighborhood Realty. Vivoli will also supply gelato to Simply Capri and Flatlands Bar & Grill, which operate in the development, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Nick Valenti, a former CEO of Patina Restaurant Group and Restaurant Associates, has a long-standing relationship with the Vivoli family and brought Simply Capri to Flamingo Crossings in 2024, according to Food Service Director. Valenti told the Sentinel that the preview event will be an extravaganza.
The Winter Garden shop will serve espresso drinks, milkshakes, sundaes, Italian pastries, about 12 rotating gelato flavors and four sorbetto options, according to the Sentinel. Its six affogato variations will include a tiramisu version made with tiramisu gelato, espresso and a lady finger. The shop will have indoor and outdoor seating for up to 19 people and will take orders for customized cakes, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Roots Stretching Back to 1929 Florence
Vivoli traces its roots to 1929, when Serafino Vivoli opened a dairy in Florence's Santa Croce neighborhood. The family began making gelato in 1932, and employees preparing for the Winter Garden opening trained in Italy to learn the company's recipes and techniques, according to the Sentinel.
The brand's American footprint traces back further than most Orlando visitors realize. Before Vivoli opened its first Disney Springs storefront in 2015, the family expanded outside Florence for the first time in March 2013 by opening a gelato counter inside Macy's Herald Square in New York City, in partnership with Valenti, according to Vivoli Il Gelato. When the Disney Springs shop debuted, it became part of Vivoli's American footprint. Since then, Vivoli has expanded its Disney presence further, adding carts at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Riviera Resort, plus two additional carts at Disney Springs itself, according to the Sentinel.
Betting on Horizon West's Booming Population
The Winter Garden opening gives Vivoli a location near a growing residential population as well as Walt Disney World visitors. Horizon West had 73,264 residents in 2026, up 58.5% from the 2020 Census, according to World Population Review. The U.S. gelato market was valued at $3.58 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $5.04 billion by 2033, with a 4.2% annual growth rate, according to Grand View Research.
What the Local Development Records Show
The available official record does not establish a residential, commercial or transportation project approved or completed around Flamingo Crossings or Horizon West since 2024. It does show that an Orange County comprehensive-plan amendment in 2016 changed Flamingo Crossings' land-use designations from RCID mixed-use categories to Growth Center commercial and medium-density residential categories, according to Orange County records. Separately, Flamingo Crossings Town Center describes the current development as a master-planned, mixed-use destination with hotels, shopping and dining at Walt Disney World's western gateway.
For nearby comparison, Gelato Go's official website lists a Winter Garden business offering Italian gelato, pastries and coffee, along with a drive-through. That gives residents another local option, though the information cited here does not by itself establish a broader market trend.
Vivoli will enter a local market that already includes other Italian-style frozen-dessert businesses. Neve di Latte opened in Winter Garden on July 26 at a separate Vineland Road address. Gerald Van Buren, Vivoli's general manager of 14 years, will lead the September 17 preview ahead of the shop's public opening on September 18.
