HOW IT ALL BEGAN

We met in Washington DC in 2013, both as pastry chefs for the same restaurant group. One day, Sally needed some help making bread, and some coworkers suggested that Jemil might be able to show her some recipes. Love and friendship grew from there- we were married in 2018, and our daughter Sofia was born in 2020.

After growing our skills and management experience over many years, we felt ready to move into our own spot. Knowing we wanted to return to Bucks County, where Sally is from, we had a couple of food concepts that we thought would do well in the area. One day, driving back to DC from Yardley, Jemil said “Why don’t we do gelato?”and we laughed at ourselves for not thinking of it sooner. Jemil had been known for his smooth, creamy gelato at Officina and the Michelin star restaurant Masseria, where he had been the Corporate Pastry Chef in DC. With the gelato, and our combined pastry experience we knew we had something special to bring to Yardley. With Italian influence in mind, we drew our inspiration for Panna and the design of the space from our trips to Italy together. From the blue color of our logo, to the Mediterranean inspired tile, to special treats like Tiramisu, our love of Italian hospitality can definitely be seen in our space.

The idea and skills brought us to the point of opening (along with crucial business advice from the volunteer-based organization SCORE) and the community has since held us up and shown us enthusiasm, support and encouragement.