Long before ice cream was invented, there was gelato. For Maria Coassin, there's really no comparison. "I always say, ‘Gelato - you can eat it twice as much and feel half as guilty,’” she said. It’s true, gelato usually has fewer calories, less sugar and lower fat content than ice cream. But Coassin believes there’s a difference in the overall experience.

"Gelato is all about the senses, really,” she said. That philosophy is partly why her small business Gelatiamo celebrates the quarter-century mark this year. "It is a long, long time and yet it seems like yesterday, honestly,” Coassin said. "I never thought that I would find myself on the other side of the world when I was 25."