A Family Legacy Restored: Our Gelato Trailer’s Journey to "The Repair Shop"
The fifth generation of our family business, Lewis and Ross, recently embarked on an unforgettable journey that will forever hold a special place in our hearts. The brothers travelled south to the iconic BBC One programme The Repair Shop with one shared goal: to restore our beloved 30-year-old gelato trailer to its former glory.
Back in the mid-to-late 1990s, Lewis and Ross’s father and grandfather acquired the gelato trailer at an auction as a tribute to the second-generation owner of the Jannetta family business, Charlie Jannetta. Charlie was a pioneer in the family, famously riding gelato trailers through the charming streets of St Andrews, serving freshly made gelato to delighted locals.
Over the years, however, the trailer bore the marks of time. Harsh winters and storms took their toll, leaving the wood frames rotten, the metalwork rusted, and the glass fittings loose. Restoring the trailer seemed like a daunting task, until Lewis and Ross brought it to the talented team at The Repair Shop.
In the episode, you’ll see Dominic Chinea, the team’s expert in restoring machinery, take on the challenge. With meticulous planning and extraordinary skill, Dominic breathed new life into the trailer, preserving its cherished place in our family history.
We couldn’t be more grateful to have this incredible piece of our heritage back in Scotland. Now fully restored, the gelato trailer is proudly on display at our St Andrews store, a symbol of the enduring legacy of Jannetta’s Gelato.
If you’d like to witness the transformation, catch up on the episode of The Repair Shop here.