Ragusa ice cream is not about just a typical ice cream, it’s more. Ragusa Italian Ice Cream is a traditionally made and got no preservatives, it’s healthy and satisfying. That’s why, Ragusa still gets its loyal consumer, even had been established for over 70 years.
Luigi and Vincenzo Ragusa was the first owner of Ragusa Ice Cream. They started to sell the ice cream along the street in Bandung, and then open a stall in Jakarta in 1932. They moved to Jalan Veteran I No. 10 (near Gambir railway-station) to reach more consumer, and also become a regular participant of annual event called Pasar Malam Gambir (now Jakarta Fair). The first stall still exists until today, and become one of the antique sites in Jakarta.
The name of Ragusa becomes more popular day by day. The unique of the ice cream attracts consumer. It contains skim-milk, water and sugar, not just a butter-milk. The distinguish taste gets consumer to stay still.
However, after the independent of Indonesia in 1945, Ragusa’s consumer decreased significantly because most of them were foreigner, they all went back home. That was a hard time for the existence of The Italian Ice Cream stall because the market got narrower, not many Indonesian are familiar with the taste.
In ‘50s, Buntoro Kurniawan joined the business and remained to stand still, “My husband joined the business and we committed to stand still (the business) although it got a narrower market,” said Hj. Sias Mawarni, Buntoro’s wife and also recognized as the current owner of Ragusa.
Buntoro was a hard worker, regarding to this, the Italian then let him to run the business. “Firstly, we just helped them to run the business, and then we interested to grow it up and pay for the royalty. But, something unbelievable happened. They put off receiving our payment in 1972 and just let us have it. It’s a God blessing,” she added. Mawarni also told that Ragusa is not a franchise trademark, it is a family name and they don’t sell the ice cream outside the city,” We
