All Bella Gelateria locations and assets abruptly put up for sale

Aug 12 2017, 1:07 am

Beloved local gelato purveyor, Bella Gelateria, is officially closing its doors.

Gelato maestro and face of the company, James Coleridge, is a 50% shareholder in the company, and found out on Thursday that his ex-wife and current director of Bella Gelateria, Anna Coleridge, placed all three of the store’s locations and its assets up for sale, he told Daily Hive.

“We’ve now learned that the business is for sale. We’ve learned that, unbeknownst to me, or anybody,” James said in a phone interview with Daily Hive.

Things in the business started to become tense back in December 2016 when Bella was facing financial struggles. This is when James decided to take his ex-partner up on a deal to step down as director in order to gain investment from her family. The following May, Anna filed for bankruptcy protection.

James woke up on Thursday to a slew of calls inquiring about the sudden sale of the gelato business.

“This impacts people’s lives. There are 95 people that are employed with this company. Single moms, students, people who are working within the company that are dramatically impacted by all of this that’s going on.”

He soon found out the sale includes the brand, trademarks and names, decor, equipment, recipes, machinery, social media platforms, and three storefronts. Bids are being taken until August 28 at 5 pm.

This is about the only information James has at the moment.

We’ll keep you updated on what happens with the company, but for now James is just trying to protect his 95 former employees and his family during this difficult time.

“I’m calm because I can’t control what’s being done to me, what’s going on. But I can find peace, again, that I have two beautiful children, I have amazing staff, and an amazing market that knows me. And for that I’m blessed.”

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