Bloomfield Gelato Shop Sells New Jersey Attitude With Each Scoop

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A Bloomfield gelato and sorbet shop known for its unflinchingly “Jersey” attitude will reopen from a winter break this weekend.

On Saturday, APEM Creamery // Sorbetteria will open its doors for the season at 870 Broad Street. And as usual, partners Alex Saneski and Jennifer Ko will be displaying their New Jersey pride with every scoop that’s served.

Some of the flavors that will be available this weekend include:

• Left Lane is For Passing Only! – lemon, vanilla bean, blueberries (an ode to Jersey’s highways)
• Blabbermouth – lemon meringue with crust (inspired by Uncle Junior in "The Sopranos")
• Cannoli Filling – ricotta & stracciatella

During growing season, the pair also harvest many ingredients for their creations in their home garden, including spearmint, lemon thyme, tomatoes, ghost peppers, Carolina reaper peppers and rhubarb, as well as locally sourced Jersey corn and blueberries.

Other inspiration is taken from New Jersey’s unique pop culture, and it shows in the way they market the business.

“The most direct way to happiness is focusing on seasonal and simple things,” Saneski writes on the company website. “Trim the bull****.”

And what does he think of New Jersey?

“Blatantly the best state in America,” Saneski opines, calling the eatery a “love letter to New Jersey.”

Here’s the quick version of the shop’s origin story:

“Jennifer Ko and Alex Saneski. Two alumni of The French Culinary Institute when it was still called that. He was a manager at Il Laboratorio del Gelato in New York City then they both moved to California and opened Cremeux Ex Machina in the San Francisco Bay Area where they located their dairy facility on an organic dairy farm and sourced and sold their Gelato and Sorbet at various farmers markets especially the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Then Alex was bored of California and so they moved back to Jersey and opened a small place in Bloomfield. Boom there’s the story now get over here cuz we are making daily and running out daily. STOP.”

Spring hours will be from 2 to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 1 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

To mark Earth Day on April 22, the business will be accepting and matching donations to New Jersey Conservation Foundation on Saturday and Sunday.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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