When Hallie Meyer lived in Rome for six months in 2016, the workers at her favorite gelateria had a nickname for her: Tripla Panna, meaning a triple serving of the iconic Italian whipped cream.
“I would get cream inside the cone, on top of the cone, and on the side,” Meyer explained, laughing.
Tripla Panna stuck as a nickname, and later became the name of Meyer’s first ice cream business, a weekly popup in the south Bronx, near the school where she worked as a teacher.
Then in 2019, inspired by her father Danny Meyer’s successful hospitality career, she decided to commit to her dream of owning her own gelaeria and recycled the name. Thus the uber-popular Caffè Panna was born.
The original location, in Manhattan's Gramercy neighborhood, is usually mobbed. Now, prompted by demand that far exceeds the first shop’s capacity, Meyer is expanding for the first time into Brooklyn, with a new shop in Greenpoint that opened on July 11.
“I guess I knew that [Brooklyn] would be a new market, but I sort of thought that a lot of the same people would come to us,” Meyer said. “Most of the people I've been talking to in line this opening week are like, ‘No, I've never been, what is this?’”
Brooklyn’s Caffè Panna has a different vibe from the Manhattan location. In Gramercy, the shop feels cramped, mostly because there are constant lines stretching outside. In Greenpoint, by contrast, Meyer made sure to find a location with indoor space where ice cream aficionados can take their time. It also has an event space for future ice cream parties.
The Greenpoint location also boasts a new menu item that you can't find across the river: the granita, an Italian version of shaved ice. A coffee granita will always be available, in addition to a fruit flavor that will rotate weekly.
The rotating granita will be offered alongside Caffè Panna’s signature daily sundae specials. Meyer likes to get inventive with these sundaes, which usually feature local products from fruit to baguettes. Now, she's excited to start collaborating with local food businesses in Brooklyn.
One classic special sundae that pops up every now and again is the savory Sungold Sundae: Fior di Panna soft serve studded with Sungold tomatoes and basil, and served with flaky sea salt and an elegant drizzle of Tuscan olive oil.
Meyer is intent on staying true to her Tripla Panna roots — which means she will continue to import her panna all the way from Piemonte, Italy.
“At the very beginning, I remember the people I was working with on sourcing ingredients and purchasing, they were like, ‘Are you sure you want to import cream just to whip it into whipped cream in-house at your ice cream shop? And then not only that, but then offer it for free as a topping?’ And I'm like, ‘Yes, we have to do this,’” Meyer said.
“And I'm really glad we did, because I think it's the best — it's the best tasting cream, and it's what makes us special.”
Caffè Panna Brooklyn is located at 16 Norman Ave., and open 1:30pm – 9:30pm, Wednesday through Sunday.
