City Gelato founder Mario Lozanov seems to have been destined for Louisiana. When the native Bulgarian decided to pursue a doctorate degree in organic chemistry, his first offer was to LSU. He turned it down because of the hot climate, however, and went to Wayne State University in Detroit.

But in 2004 he joined Albemarle and headed to Baton Rouge. “Here I am,” Mario says. “It is fate.”

So, too, was his friendship with the owner of a small Italian café on Chimes street, who introduced him to gelato, a flavor and idea that lingered. Meanwhile his corporate job began to lose its appeal. “There were no challenges,” he says. “It was no longer fun.”

He loves Louisiana food – red beans, rice and sausage is his favorite – and admires chefs John Folse and Rick Tramonto. He began to dream of operating a food truck, and first considered bringing lobster from Maine to sell here. But after being downsized from Albemarle in 2012, his thoughts returned to gelato, an Italian dessert lower in calories, fat and sugar than regular ice cream. So he applied to the LSU AgCenter Food Incubator to develop plans to bring a local version of the treat to mobile food carts and farmers markets. “My words to live by became ‘don’t fake it, be yourself!”

Today he sells City Gelato from three mobile stands and in local stores, including supplying Alexander’s fresh-serve gelato counter. “Buying local is better because it reduces the carbon footprint and sustains the local community,” Mario says. Best part of the job? “I am my own boss.”