Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Joe and Carol Hargett take time out for a raspberry iced coffee at Dolce Spazio.

Gelato and pizza became a good recipe for success

By Suzanne Cristallo

Carol and Joe Hargett are innovators. They rode the first wave of the gelato and designer pizza craze into Los Gatos and owned the first espresso bar there. Ice cream and espresso fans frequent their Dolce Spazio Gelato shop on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, while pizza aficionados partake of made-from-scratch dishes at their 2wenty 9ine East Main Cafe.

Natives of Ann Arbor, Mich., the Hargetts moved to California with their young daughter to escape the harsh Michigan winters. They chose Los Gatos for its school system.

At the time of their departure, Haagen-Dazs had just introduced its super premium ice cream to Ann Arbor. Soon after their arrival in Los Gatos, the Hargetts discovered a small shop at 29 E. Main Street that made the closest thing to Haagen-Dazs they had ever tasted.

An offhand remark to the clerk about buying the place found its way into a solid deal in 1982. Joe had previously worked his own hours as a manufacturers' rep for tabletop equipment.

"The most surprising aspect [of ownership]," Joe says with a smile, "is you get to work all the time."

The Hargetts worked the front counter, offering their growing number of customers up to 20 flavors of gelato at a time, which they concocted in a back room. In 1986, they moved the ice cream manufacturing to a plant in Campbell, eventually putting that operation under a "gelatomeister" who oversees the mixing of more than 60 recipes. These are sold over the counter and to wholesale customers such as Saratoga's Le Mouton Noir.

Further evidence of the Hargetts' innovation is the ownership arrangement they devised after the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake necessitated the relocation of Dolce Spazio to its present location. They brought in a new partner, 27-year-old Mike Orlando, who owns the proceeds of the shop from noon to closing, while Carol Hargett has ownership of the morning business. Joe oversees the ice cream plant while retaining ownership of the Dolce Spazio Gelato name.

In spite of the relocation of Dolce Spazio, the Hargetts retained leasing rights to the Main Street location throughout its reconstruction. What to put there was a big question until they learned how famous chef Wolfgang Puck was taking designer pizzas and making meals of them.

The Hargetts opened a gourmet pizza cafe in the restored building, the only one of its kind at that time specializing exclusively in pizza. The 2wenty 9ine East Main Cafe offers 15 designer pizzas, including Costillo's Mustard Chicken--named after its originator, chef/manager Luis Costillo. Customers can build their own pizzas by combining items from a list of 32 ingredients.

This spring, look for the Hargetts to add fine dining to their repertoire when they open Tapestry, A California Bistro, with partners Gary Messich, former California Cafe chef, and his wife, Vickie, a pastry chef. The new restaurant will be in the former Pucinelli house in the new Flick Center on E. Main Street.

2wenty 9ine East Main Cafe, 29 E. Main St., Los Gatos. Open Sun.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.- 9 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. 395-4889. Dolce Spazio Gelato, 221 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos. Open daily 7 a.m.-10:30 p.m. 395-1335.

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