Dojo Gelato opening stand-alone shop in Northside

Dojo Gelato, a Findlay Market staple for six years, plans to open a stand-alone location in the old J.F. Dairy Corner building at 1735 Blue Rock St. in Northside. Owner Michael Christner says he hopes to open by early spring next year and be the first place in the neighborhood to serve ice cream.  

“I’m really excited about the new location,” Christner says. “I like to say that I bought myself a job when I started Dojo six years ago. So far I’ve far succeeded the goals I set out to accomplish with my business and can’t wait to see what’s next.”

When Christner and his wife moved to Cincinnati about seven years ago, they settled in Northside. He looked for locations in the neighborhood for Dojo then but didn’t find the perfect spot. Now that he and his family have moved elsewhere, he’s bringing the business to where it all began.

“It’s very serendipitous,” he says. “Plus, the building was an old soft-serve stand.”

Not only will the new Dojo location serve gelato, but Christner plans to put his own spin on traditional ice cream treats such as sundaes and soft-serve. He also wants to expand the menu he offers at Findlay Market, which he can’t do right now because of space constraints there.

The Findlay Market location is only 210 square feet, and much of that is used for production, which is done on a rolling cart. With a larger space, Christner will be able to develop new treats and flavors.

Even though Dojo won’t open in Northside until 2016, Christner plans to move all of his production work to the new location as soon as possible.