Brooke Strickland//February 15, 2023
Black Market Gelato officially broke ground this January on its new facility in Boise. The facility will stretch over 92,000 square feet. The company plans to utilize approximately 53,000 square feet of the space at first and the rest will be available for leasing to another tenant. However, the goal is for Black Market Gelato to grow into the whole building within the next three years.
The dream for Black Market Gelato began when native Austrian “Spin” Zbynek Mlynarik introduced his family to authentic Italian gelato. They fell in love with it, and he started training under European gelato professionals. He launched Black Market Gelato a decade ago, first supplying restaurants with gelato and sorbet. Now, the product line has expanded to include not just gelato and sorbet, but ice cream, too. The company has also developed into a co-packer and manufacturer for other brands, and the new building will allow an increase in production volume. The company anticipates being able to produce up to 5,000 gallons of ice cream mix per day.
Construction on the building is progressing: The foundations are nearly complete, and the steel structure will be erected in the coming weeks. Black Market Gelato is partnering with Adler Industrial and the City of Boise Airport, with the goal of bringing more industrial development to the area. Currently, construction is operating under a grading permit while the company is waiting for the City of Boise to issue the building permit.
“It is definitely a big footprint, with big ambitions,” said Mlynarik, owner and managing member at Black Market Gelato. “But we have been at this for over 10 years now, so we know how to manufacture and supply. Most of our equipment is from Italy, which will allow us to manufacture a wide variety of products. But some of it is also extremely unique, specifically made for a specialized product that we have big hopes for, and I am not able to reveal quite yet.”
One thing is certain: people are excited seeing the building take shape.
“It is exciting to help bring Mlynarik’s vision to life and to bring delicious gelato to our local grocery stores,” said Will Goede, development manager at Adler Industrial. “We are also excited about our partnership with the City of Boise Airport, to bring more industrial development to the Boise Airport area. Black Market Gelato is the first project in this new partnership, but there will be many more great projects to come.”
Bradley Miller, managing director for Adler Industrial, added that supporting small business is part of the company’s core values and being a part of the Black Market Gelato project does exactly that.
“This project is very personal for Adler Industrial,” he said. “People don’t understand the difficulty of being a small business owner, and it is important for those small business owners to associate with partners and vendors who understand and respect the burdens and challenges of a small business. Adler Industrial understands the small business struggle and we are honored to help Zbynek “Spin” Mlynarik and his family pursue their dreams of building and growing the Black Market Gelato business.”
The facility will bring 12 jobs to the area within the first year and hopefully up to 30 jobs in the next two years, according to a recent press release.
Mlynarik shared, “I am a proud Idahoan, and want to contribute and bring my product, jobs and involvement to this community.”