Ella’s Sweet Shoppe in Madison, a 2,600 square foot shop, is designed to entice with packaged sweets, fresh chocolate, fudge, chocolate covered strawberries and whimsical candies as well as another favorite item, 100 percent authentic Italian Gelato.

The shop, named for owners Lorenze and Allison Tremonti’s daughter, came out of a story many people are familiar with: job loss.

“Getting laid off was the last straw,” Tremonti said. “I’m an engineer by trade, but there was nothing for me. My wife and I made this happen. We are real people who lived paycheck to paycheck and made the American dream come true. It all comes down to passion. It’s a scary thing, but once you’re in halfway, you are in.”

The candy store was Tremonti’s wife, Allison’s vision. The couple created a business plan and came up with enough capital to start their dream of a candy shop.

The couple chose Madison because they reside in the area.

“It just feels right to start a business here. We felt like we could do good in our neighborhood. The town has really received us, and we are right across the street from Madison’s Town Park,” Tremonti said.

One of the most requested items sold at Ella’s is the gelato. The creamy and more health conscious treat has been a customer favorite.

“We have 100 percent Roman gelato. It is absolutely the real deal. The only difference between our gelato, and Roman gelato, is that we can experiment with different flavors. Gelato is basically ice cream from the 1940s before ice cream companies added in a lot of other ingredients that may or may not have been necessary. Our gelato is fresh and creamy,” Tremonti said.

The store also features over 100 different brands of soda pop. Older generations can venture inside Ella’s for a nostalgic feeling of a soda shop, complete with authentic soda sure to please any pallet.

The store also features custom parties and a party room. The staff can make almost any child’s dream and themed party come true.

“The kids have really propelled this business. We tried 500 different ice cream makers and 100 different chocolatiers to make sure we had the best products, in our humble opinions. Our customers are always first, and make sure it is a highly personable experience,” Tremonti said.

The shop just had its 11,555 customer after its July 1 opening. Ella’s recently received a portable, custom gelato cart for catering, and the shop plans to attend the Harmony Crossing Farmer’s Festival, the Deep Roots Festival, the Sunflower Festival as well as the Cottonwood Festival to sell their popular gelato throughout the area.

“We’re having fun and being innovative. We’re doing something called a Gelatoshake, with a patent pending. It has been such a great hit and something we are becoming known for. It’s a delicious gelato milkshake, complete with whipped cream on top. Best of all, it contains only natural ingredients,” Tremonti said.

The store keeps in touch with its customers through a slightly different method of communication.

“We have a texting service. If you text ‘ellas’ to 69302, you are automatically entered to win a $100 gift card to Ella’s that we give out twice a year. We have over 2000 people who locally are attached to this. We send out promotional deals to let everyone in on our deals instantly. It’s a win-win situation. The other day we did $1 chocolate covered strawberries. With a simple text, we let our customers know about the special deal,” Tremonti said.

Ella’s hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. The store can be found at 191 W. Jefferson St. in Madison.

For more information, or to order online, visit www.EllasSweetShoppe.com, or call (706) 342-7544.