“You Get What You Give!”

Words by Janine Stankus Photos by Shelby Bella

Ice cream’s dessertly origins date to the 16th century, and it continues to pique palettes of almost every persuasion. This treat is simply delightful and undeniably persistent, much like Chef Jam Sanitchat herself, the creator and owner of Gati. 

Gati is East Austin’s first fully-vegan ice cream shop boasting bold and delicate flavors like Lavender Caramel, Thai Basil, Cookie Monster, and Beet Chocolate Cake—plus an assortment of vegan/gluten-free baked goods and coffee. Jam, who also owns South Austin staple Thai Fresh along with her husband, Bruce, has been experimenting with coconut milk-based ice cream at the restaurant for quite some time, working with flavors that the restaurant already had on hand. She noticed local ice cream shops attracting lines out the door and was convinced she had a comparable product that could stand on its own.  

“I just had a feeling,” Jam explains. “I wanted to take [the ice cream] out, rebrand it, and give it a new name.” 

Jam’s prevailing “take life as it comes” attitude has already brought her a bounty. She’s a wife and a mother, a teacher and a chef, a business owner and an author. She moved from Thailand to Austin in 2001 to finish her Master’s in Communications at UT, with plans to pursue a PhD.  

While at UT, she began teaching cooking classes in homes. She also found love waiting tables, where she met her husband-to-be. So instead of following the academic path, she decided to see where her passions would take her, though it wasn’t easy. In order to stay on her student visa, she had to enroll in classes, so she signed up for culinary courses at ACC—past the deadline. “I had to beg them. I went there three times before they said ‘yes,’” Jam recalls fondly. 

Soon, Jam was teaching cooking classes out of the space that eventually became Thai Fresh, a full-blown restaurant born out of high demand for her culinary creations. Jam also ran farmer’s markets, got married, and had a baby, all while growing her business.

Gati represents a step towards simplicity, a platform she can expand on as she looks forward to not working so much. There are fewer moving parts to an ice cream shop, and she thinks she can easily expand across Texas and into other states—hopefully growing her already close-knit community. Community is an integral part of what she loves about Austin and is something that’s embedded in all her ventures. “The community here is so tight—it makes me afraid to move away, when I think about it,” she admits. “But community will be there if you’re serious about it. You get what you give,” she grins.   

Contact:
(512) 220-1077
1512 Holly St.
gatiicecream.com
Mon-Sun 7:30am – 9pm