Shy Guy Gelato owner-operator Paul Sansone and co-owner Tim Elliott have put the St. Paul Street Italian-style ice cream business on the market for $200,000. They emphasized that operations will continue as usual, including a busy summer catering schedule, until a new owner takes the reins of what has become a beloved Burlington institution.
“We’re committed to keeping it as is through the selling process and looking to find an owner that can keep up the standards,” Elliott, 57, said.
“Somebody who wants to be an owner-operator and already loves the business, ideally,” added Sansone, 45.
The partners started Shy Guy in 2014 in the downtown apartment of Elliott, who is also a hands-on co-owner of Burlington’s Zabby & Elf’s Stone Soup. Sansone, a career restaurant cook, learned to make gelato in Italy and then refined his recipes for flavors such as Black Forest cake, fior di latte and nectarine-rhubarb.
In 2016, Sansone launched a Church Street cart and opened a South End storefront on St. Paul Street, where he made fresh daily batches, as he and his team still do. Shy Guy moved downtown to 198 St. Paul Street in spring 2022.
After more than a decade, Sansone said, he feels the need to move on. “I’ve put more effort and love into this business than anything I have in my entire life.” Especially during peak season, he noted, “I put the business over myself.”
Shy Guy has regulars who come in every day the store is open, Sansone said. “It’s the sweetest part and definitely not something I take for granted,” he added. “That’s why I really want whoever eventually takes over the business to love it as much as we do.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Burlington’s Shy Guy Gelato Is for Sale but Still Scooping”
This article appears in The Food Issue 2025.
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