Over two years ago, friends Nathan Gaudreau and Marcel Khorsand signed a lease to open their own Persian culture-inspired ice cream shop in the heart of Los Gatos. Sitting in the location that once housed Gymboree, the new shop, bakery and café arrives with great timing, considering the recent closing of Lolli and Pops. The name Petals Creamery comes from the taste of the saffron flowers that inspire the product line they expect to begin offering by May.
“I love working with saffron,” said Marcel Khorsand. “It’s my favorite ingredient. And it became a symbol of what I do. I also work with rose a lot, so there are a lot of floral flavors in our food.”
Gaudreau explained that they faced delays, as they were going through the permitting process. And, he says they had to wait for equipment to arrive from Italy.
“We got our final approval from the (Town, from) the fire department and the food department, as well as the dairy department—which is a federal thing,” Gaudreau said, adding he’s excited for the upcoming launch.
Both Gaudreau and Khorsand grew up in the area, going to Leigh High School (Khorsand) and Saratoga High (Gaudreau). Khorsand even designed much of the store, selecting the stained glass that hangs from the ceiling, as well as the art posters.
‘I make a pistachio cupcake, baklava cannoli, rose cake and saffron creme brulee’
—Marcel Khorsand, chef / founder
They say that the food is a product of their cultural upbringing, and a full-circle moment for both.
Petals Creamery will be an ice cream parlor with unique flavors, like saffron pistachio, orange blossom cream, pistachio mint, baklava, Turkish coffee, London fog and watermelon sherbet, they share.
They’re also planning to offer baked goods and pastries.
“I make a pistachio cupcake, baklava cannoli, rose cake and saffron crème brûlée, along with dripped coffee that will have cardamon and rose infused into it,” says Khorsand, the chef behind their recipes.
For a town like Los Gatos, a unique dining place which permits 50 people with an ethnic twist is something that is relatively new in the dessert category.
Gaudreau says that 15 years ago he made a Facebook post sharing his dream to open a dessert shop one day. Let’s do it one day, was Khorsand’s comment. Gaudreau reflects on how he was a computer engineer by trade. Both he and Khorsand say they have a love of serving others that was instilled in them by their families.
They hope to make their shop a popular late-night stop for Silicon Valley residents. Their aim is to serve customers from 11am-8pm during the week and until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
A soft launch, for friends and family, is set for May 3. Though it’s taken over two years since they signed their lease, the Petals Creamery team is confident that what they’ve come up with—from the shop architecture, to the art on the walls, to the food—will stand as proof that good things take time.
Petals Creamery is set to open to the public by the end of May.
