Small Bites Radio Episode 202 – Happy Place Homemade Founder Tyler Gerber and Perry “Rocco” Spinelli of Festa Italiana Charlotte: An Italian Food & Wine Festival
Small Bites Radio is the WINNER of Metro Philly Newspaper Best of Philadelphia Arts & Entertainment 2023-2025, nominated by Metro Philly Newspaper 2022 Best of Arts & Entertainment, named Top Hospitality Shows on the Planet from 2020–2025, #Bluejeanfood.com named Top Philadelphia Best Philadelphia Lifestyle Blogs and Websites from 2021-2025, Best Philly Food Blogs and Websites 2023-25, and Top Philly Food RSS Feeds 2024-2025.
🎙️ Small Bites Radio — Latest Episode ✨
Guests: Tyler Gerber (Founder of Happy Place Homemade) & Perry “Rocco” Spinelli (Festa Italiana Charlotte board member) 🍩
☕🍷 Get ready for a delicious and inspiring new episode of Small Bites Radio! 🎧 This week we sat down with Tyler Gerber, the visionary founder behind Happy Place Homemade, Medford, NJ’s newest sweet destination where scratch-made donuts, premium soft serve, and specialty coffee come together to create a “new-nostalgia” treat experience 🍩🍦☕. Tyler shared the story behind building a community gathering spot with fresh cake donuts from a custom “donut robot,” local-milk from Burlington County for their soft serve in rotating creative flavors, and exclusive La Colombe coffee blends. It’s a modern twist on classic treat shop culture that’s already starting to delight locals and visitors alike in South Jersey.
And then we changed gears with Perry “Rocco” Spinelli, a board member of Festa Italiana Charlotte, one of the Southeast’s premier Italian food and wine festivals🍷🍝. Rocco gave us a behind-the-scenes look at this all-inclusive Italian celebration happening Sunday, May 17th, 2026 in Uptown Charlotte’s Gateway Village Promenade that highlights Italian culture through amazing food & wine from 25+ culinary partners, live performances, chef demos, art exhibits, an Italian Village Market, and even silent auctions supporting local charities. We talked about how Festa Italiana brings people together to savor the best of Italian cuisine 🍝🍷, celebrate community, and make an impact through charity. Whether you’re craving sweet comfort or dreaming of a classic Italian feast under the spring sun, this episode serves up a flavorful blend of stories and insight from two great guests.
Tune in for a tasty mix of entrepreneurship, culture, community, and, of course, great bites! 🎙️🍩
Small Bites Radio is the WINNER of Metro Philly Newspaper Best of Philadelphia Arts & Entertainment 2023-2025, nominated by Metro Philly Newspaper 2022 Best of Arts & Entertainment, named Top Hospitality Shows on the Planet from 2020–2025, #Bluejeanfood.com named Top Philadelphia Best Philadelphia Lifestyle Blogs and Websites from 2021-2025, Best Philly Food Blogs and Websites 2023-25, and Top Philly Food RSS Feeds 2024-2025.
Again, in 2025, Small Bites with Donato Marino and Derek Timm of Bluejeanfood.com was blown away by winning the Best of the Best in the Philadelphia Region Arts & Entertainment category out of 80,000 votes tallied in total through Metro Philly’s Best of Philadelphia for 2025. Truly appreciate everyone who voted for us. We would be thrilled if you voted for us again in 2026.
As usual don’t forget to listen to the #1 listed “Food Radio Show Philadelphia” and the #1 listed “Food Radio Show South Jersey” Small Bites Radio. For a list of guests who have appeared on the show and more information click below:
www.bluejeanfood.com/smallbitesradio
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