Carmela’s Ice Cream Reopens in Palm Springs After Devastating Altadena Fire

One local business is getting a sweet second chance. After being shuttered for five months following the devastating Altadena fire, Carmela Ice Cream Company has reopened its doors in downtown Palm Springs. The shop lost roughly $75,000 worth of inventory after their primary production facility was impacted by power outages during the Los Angeles-area fires. The loss forced the popular ice cream destination to temporarily close, leaving a void in the local community—and a heavy emotional toll on owner Jessica Mortarotti.

“It’s definitely a very stressful experience,” Mortarotti told our Brett Rosen. “To go through those ups and downs, especially in the aftermath of something so unexpected—it was tough every single day.”

Today, that chapter closed with a new beginning.

A crowd gathered outside the store for the official ribbon-cutting, led by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte. The community counted down—“Three, two, one, yay!”—as Carmela reopened with cheers and smiles.

“This place is special to us,” said one local resident. “We’d come here once or twice a month, and when it closed, we were devastated. But seeing it reopen—it’s like a piece of the neighborhood came back.”

Mortarotti credits the community’s support with helping her push through the hardest days. “We had so much support—donations, encouragement, just people showing up. That energy really kept us going,” she said.

The reopening wasn’t just about ice cream—it was also symbolic. Due to the unexpected closure, the business never had a true grand opening. Today’s celebration marked both a comeback and a milestone.

For Mortarotti, who runs the shop alongside her daughter, the reopening carries deeper meaning. “Continuing on after all this, rather than giving up—that’s a lesson I want to teach my daughter. It’s about resilience, and that’s something really valuable.”

As the line continued to get longer, scoops in hand and smiles on faces, it was clear that Carmela ice cream wasn’t just reopening—it was reuniting a community. For more information tune into NBC Palm Springs.