Gelato Emporium is the flagship store of the Di Francesca family's Gelato Ingredients Manufacturers of Australia (GIMA) business, which supplies its ingredients wholesale to hundreds of cafes and food outlets in Australia and South-East Asia.

The shop, which also sells coffee, savoury snacks and wholesale quantities of gelato, opened this week under blue and white-striped awnings.

Great vats of gelato in 32 flavours were displayed front and centre for the first customers - many of them local residents curious to see what has become of the high-profile site.

GIMA's move to Bulli Tops ends an almost three-year vacancy at the Southern Gateway Centre after the troubled Jumbulla Aboriginal Discovery Centre was forced to close in February 2011 due to lack of patronage.

The refurbishment meant an end to Jumbulla's dark, shrouded rooms, with designers instructed to capitalise on the sweeping coastal views.

"The open kitchen was also very important for us because people can watch the gelato being made," said co-owner Robert Di Francesca.