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The first thing Diana Diaz wants you to know about gelato is that it doesn’t have to be intimidating.

That’s why her downtown Cary shop, Geluna Gelato, answers two questions right on the wall: what is gelato, and how does it compare to ice cream? That’s why the Pennsylvania native and her Australian-born husband, Warwick Sheehan, offer samples freely, trusting customers to self-regulate. And that’s why the aesthetic — a welcoming green and warm orange interior, and a whimsical logo designed by a local artist — signals come on in before you’ve even touched the door.

“We want people to feel unafraid to try stuff,” says Diana, whose effervescence fills the room.

What greets patrons inside rewards their courage. The Local Palate magazine recently named Geluna the Best Gelato Outside of Italy, a bold claim that warranted a closer look.

The verdict?

Years of training and perfecting the craft led to the irresistibly creamy scoops at Geluna Gelato

A rich, flavor-forward cold treat made from scratch with Homeland Creamery milk and cream, plus an impressive lineup of first-rate ingredients. When it comes to gelato crafted this far from Europe, Geluna doesn’t just hold its own. It sets the standard.

But the path to the first scoop was anything but smooth.

Diana and Warwick met in a London pub. She worked in real estate investing, he in equity operations. But Diana had already logged some 40 trips to Italy in pursuit of the perfect gelato. When a visit to North Carolina brought them close to Diana’s family and a food scene that felt right, the path forward became clear. They left finance, crossed the Atlantic, and got to work.

Fresh gelato flows straight from the batch freezer.

Training at Carpigiani Gelato University in Italy was just the start. Warwick went on to study under a master gelatiere — an artisan gelato maker — and the couple spent years refining their craft before opening their doors in 2022.

“This business was many years in the making,” Diana says, adding that her parents and sister had already settled in Cary, making it a logical choice to put down roots. “We left getting a regular paycheck. This is like the sibling our daughter never had. It’s been a labor of love.”

The early years tested that love. Covid slowed everything. Their own money kept going in. Moments of uncertainty tested the couple’s resolve.

“We just had to believe, so we kept believing,” Diana says.

Warwick, quieter than Diana but no less passionate, adds: “We could feel the momentum building, but initially it was like, what have we done?”

What they’ve done, it turns out, amounts to something exceptional.

It’s a partnership built on complementary strengths. Diana manages payroll, hiring, scheduling, and ordering; Warwick moves between the kitchen and the front of house, keeping both humming.

Every batch of gelato begins with a 24-hour aging process before churning, an intentional step that allows ingredients to bind naturally, producing that characteristic creamy texture without artificial colors, preservatives, or emulsifiers. The color in their pistachio comes from pistachios. What you taste is exactly what belongs there.

Tanisha DePina, head of production, makes mocha lavender gelato. The process includes base and churning stages.

Eight gelato flavors are staples, among them sweet cream, sea salt caramel, and stracciatella (milk chocolate chip), while several others rotate based on season and inspiration.

Geluna’s dark chocolate sorbet defies expectations. Cocoa absorbs water in a way that makes it turn silky, almost like ice cream.

Sourcing is purposeful. North Carolina purveyors include Seal the Seasons for berries, Big Spoon Roasters for peanut butter, King Cobra Apiary for honey, and Spicewalla for items like lavender and lemon peel.

“We love suppliers who know what it’s like to be a small business,” Diana says. “Some of them even deliver personally, which tells you everything about the kind of people they are.”

Tanisha DePina, Geluna’s head of production and a chef de cuisine by trade, brings a savory cook’s sensibility to the rotation. During our visit, the New England–raised culinarian was tinkering with a salted honey and olive oil flavor.

The front-of-house staff are young, warm, and well trained, the kind who look you in the eye, smile, and instantly put you at ease.

Warwick Sheehan and Diana Diaz

As if the gelato and the hospitality weren’t enough, the coffee deserves its own mention. Pulled from a La Marzocco machine on beans from Little Marionette, a roastery in Sydney, Australia, it’s the kind of cup that makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about espresso.

Diana laughs when recounting the math behind springing for the Italian machine: “The rationale was that we were spending $100 a month at the coffee shop, so worst case scenario it was a 10-year payback.”

The affogato, a shot of hot espresso poured over cold gelato, has become an unexpected calling card, and for good reason. Every affogato you’ve had before wishes it were this one.

The name Geluna came from a girl Diana spotted in their daughter Matilda’s music class. “We loved the name Luna,” Diana says. “Ge-luna — we felt it just sounds brilliant, and the alliteration with gelato works well, too.”

So does everything else they’ve built.

Downtown Cary has grown more walkable, more alive on a Friday night, and the shop has thrived right along with it. New customers wander in from the park and linger. Regulars walk in and find the staff already scooping their go-to flavors.

“Everyone comes in and quickly discovers how approachable gelato is,” Warwick says. “That’s exactly what we hoped for.”

There’s no pretension in his voice, nor in Diana’s. Just the quiet satisfaction of two people who kept the faith.

gelunagelato.com
@geluna_gelato

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