AN ice cream dessert parlour opened for business on Sunday in Basingstoke’s Top of The Town.

Sundaes Gelato sells 36 flavours of Italian ice cream known as gelato, along with fat free sorbets, sundaes, crepes and waffles, as well as hot and cold drinks, cakes and pastries.

The business is run by husband and wife team Waheed and Sue Zafaree, who have taken on the Sundaes Gelato franchise at the site that was previously Cafe Rouge in Winchester Street.

New to the business of colourful and delicious gelato, former hairdresser Sue said: “We visited a gelato store in Southampton and fell in love with it.

“My sons Jamil and Idreece just loved the place – they are ice cream fanatics.

“When we got home we said we are going to open our own gelato store and that is what we have done.”

Former Basingstoke taxi driver Waheed said he was impressed with the Sundae Gelato franchise, especially after a fact finding trip to their store in Plymouth.

With an aim to employ around 15 full and part-time staff, Waheed and Sue currently have eight people working for them, including two who are on hand to discuss potential allergies and a trained ice cream maker, who uses ingredients that come from the home of gelato ¬– Italy.

Delighted with the bright and modern new store, Waheed said: “The location here is great and we are pleased to bring a new business to the Top of The Town area.

“It’s something very different for the town.

Sue said there has been a very good start to the business.

“We opened on Sunday for a few hours, as our staff are newly trained and we wanted a soft opening.

“We started off with a trickle of customers, but now we are busy and we’re prepared for a very busy weekend.”