MICHELLE JUERGEN | staff writer
photo | MICHELLE JUERGEN
For the third year in a row, Nana's Ice Creamery won numerous prizes at the L.A. County Fair.


Local spot, Nana’s Ice Creamery, received four blue ribbons at the 2007 L.A. County Fair, making a total of 21 ribbons won in the past three years.

Nana’s, located at 5th and Azusa, is owned and operated by John and Carmen Eckert, who opened their gelato and sorbet store on Jan. 1, 1999.

Ribbons won this year were for new gelato flavors white chocolate, rum raisin and toasted almond, and a new peach mango sorbet.

“I strive to make the best culinary gelato and sorbet in the San Gabriel Valley, and I think we have the best there is,” Carmen Eckert said.

Eckert began entering her product in the L.A. County Fair in 2005, and has continued to do so every year since then.

“My goal is to make every one of our flavors an L.A. County Fair winner,” Eckert said.

There are 32 flavors of gelato and sorbet served at Nana’s that are rotated daily, with at least one new flavor every day.

The Eckerts use a gelato machine from Italy, and all their products are imported from Italy as well. They recently added a non-fat and sugar -free sorbet to the menu.

“When we first opened our store in 1999, no one around here knew what gelato was but APU students did,” Eckert said.

Nana’s Ice Creamery often offers “buy one, get one free” or “dollar-off” coupons to APU students.

APU uses Nana’s ice cream at school events, such as at basketball’s season kick-off “Midnight Madness” event, and at half-time of the Homecoming football game. Eckert says APU students and parents have given her many ideas for new flavors.

“I’ve gotten emails from parents of students to make new flavors. I had one parent ask me to make ‘tutti-frutti’ flavored ice cream,” Eckert said.

Carmen Eckert is an Arizona native and her husband, John, is a USC alum from Van Nuys.

“I was following a dream. I went to seminars, I took classes in gelato and sorbet-making, and after fixing the place up, my husband and I started making ice cream,” Eckert said.

The Eckert’s employ local Azusa students at their store, and often keep consistent employees for years at a time.

Recent APU graduate and music major Harmony McBrayer and fiancée Ryan Bathauer plan to serve Nana’s gelato at their November wedding reception.

“It’s so cute, because when they went to APU, they used to go to get a burger and then come here to Nana’s for gelato, and now that’s what they want for their reception,” Eckert said.

Students who like Nana’s are fans of the low prices, assortment of flavors and location.

“Nana’s is a great place for people who like Cold Stone Creamery-style ice cream but are sick of paying for the trendiness,” junior global studies major Amber Oda said.

Junior psychology major Katie Welch agreed.

“Nana’s has a variety of flavors at a lower price than Baskin Robbins,” Welch said.