Today we’d like to introduce you to Emi Tanga.
Hi Emi, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My husband and I love to travel, particularly to Europe. We are originally from Albania and often visit the Balkan region of Europe as well as Italy. In addition to the culture, architecture and history, we really enjoy the food- how it is grown and prepared, how passionate the people that make it are and of course the taste and freshness of everything you eat. My husband grew up in Europe and grew up enjoying the European cuisine and culture. I immigrated to the US at a very young age and grew up in the Boston area. Boston is home to many diverse cultures so you are able to find any authentic taste and cuisine. We moved to the Nashville area approximately 8 years ago and the thing we struggled with the most was finding those same authentic flavors here.
We live in Mount Juliet and love the community we have become a part of. My husband is the owner of A&B Automotive in Mount Juliet and prior to opening Brio I worked in a corporate position before taking a couple of years off to be with my kids. We are blessed with 3 children and one of our favorite things to do as a family is go out for ice cream. Not only did we struggle to find great tasting ice cream, we also struggled to find ice cream that did not contain the artificial colors and flavors and high fructose corn syrup that are so harmful to the human body, particularly children. My husband began to dread every time the kids would ask to go out for ice cream. We often talked about the need for a gelato place and how wonderful it would be to have a place to go to enjoy good coffee and desserts. When I was ready to return to the workforce, my husband and I decided to bring to our community something it was missing- authentic Italian gelato, desserts and coffee in a laid-back enjoyable atmosphere.
Although we had a clear image of what we wanted to build and how we wanted everything to be, the process of building Brio was lengthy and not without its drawbacks. It took time to find a company that makes the same products for Italy and the US, without the artificial ingredients. It took time to find a suitable location and then building it to the way we had envisioned. We learned so much about the history of gelato and the process of making it, we learned so much about coffee and Italian pastries and it has been really wonderful experience. We are very proud of what we have built with Brio and strive to maintain a very high standard of quality and service. At Brio you can come and enjoy authentic Italian gelato that comes from Italy made fresh in our kitchen, desserts and coffee that come directly from Italy as well. We have expanded our menu to include food options such as breakfast sandwiches, waffles and crepes, sandwiches and salads. We are just starting out and are very hopeful for a successful future. We hope to build a place that becomes a staple in our community where people enjoy coming to. All in all, the process of building Brio Gelateria and Caffe has been a labor of love and it has very much been a team effort. We could not have done it without the help and support of our families first and foremost, and also our wonderful friends who helped behind the scenes with being there for us and our kids in every turn. We couldn’t be more thankful, fortunate and blessed.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say it was the smoothest journey. We struggled in the beginning to find gelato high quality that did not contain the artificial components.. many of the gelato companies that made gelato for the US contained the artificial ingredients in high fructose syrups because the US allows for it. We were determined to find a company that had great gelato with clean ingredients.
The build out of the store also took a bit longer than we had anticipated due to unforeseen factors.
I think the greatest obstacle for me was a personal one. During the process of building Brio, my father, who lived in Massachusetts, was diagnosed with cancer and passed away a few months after his diagnosis. It was the most difficult time of my life to try to oversee everything with a business and juggle being there for my dad and my family and deal with a grief and emptiness of his passing. I still struggle that he’s not here to experience this all with us and often think what he would have thought of what we built and what advice he would give me for the future. He was not a big fan of desserts, but he did enjoy ice cream and every time I make a gelato flavor that I know he would’ve loved., I wish you were here to try it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The goal of Brio is to build a place where our community can come together and connect. We want to build an atmosphere where people have pleasant experiences while enjoying great food and drinks. We want to be a welcoming place families love to visit with their kids, feeling good about the food and drinks they are enjoying. We offer authentic art seasonal Italian gelato that has no artificial colors or flavors, no high fructose corn syrup or seed oils. All our ingredients come from Italy and we make the gelato fresh in our kitchen.. our pistachio cream, Nutella, chocolate and white chocolate creams, caramels, and jams that we use for our crêpes waffles and croissants all come directly from Italy as those are a coffee. We believe you can taste the difference. We are committed to being a place that serves food that is good for you and that you can feel good about.
We have expanded our menu to include a variety of drink options, such as coffees and teas, frescas/refreshers, Italian sodas, milkshakes, smoothies and bubble/BOBA tea. We have also expanded our food menu to include breakfast sandwiches on fresh New York style bagels., waffles, and crêpes and variety of flavors, croissants, and muffins, sandwiches and salads. We have dips/plates of avocado toast, bruschetta, olive tapenade, buffalo chicken dip and hummus.
Our goal is to also build connections and support other local small businesses in our area. We are proud to partner with Benji’s Bagels for our bagels, Elbows Eats Bakery, and other local bakeries for our bread and additional pastry needs. We hope to cultivate more business relationships with local small businesses as our needs grow in the future.
We are also committed to giving back to the community we are a part of. We are proudly.committed to sponsoring local schools, events and extracurricular sport groups to ensure we are giving back an enriching the community we live in for ourselves and our children.
What are your plans for the future?
Our plans for the near future include making Brio a diverse and fun place to be. We are looking into organizing events and live music. We are also very excited to be building a new outdoor patio for additional outside seating to be opened in the spring time. At the same time we are working to further expand our menu to include serving cocktails, and wine, charcuterie, boards, and more. For more long-term future goals, we hope to be able to offer catering services and possibly expand Brio beyond just one location. We are not really clear in what capacity that will be, but are very excited for what the future holds.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://briogelateria.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briogelateria/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briogelateria/
