Buongiorno, Bella.

After gaining national exposure in September as the gelato company that worked with contestants on NBC's hit Donald Trump vehicle "The Apprentice," Ciao Bella Gelato Co. is expanding in Los Angeles.

Based in New York, Ciao Bella's gelato is available in Whole Foods Markets in the Los Angeles area, but the 20-year-old company wants to open about a dozen company-owned scoop shops in Los Angeles and Orange counties by the end of the year.

Its first L.A. location, which is being created through a licensing arrangement with Warner Bros., will be a 200-square-foot gelateria slated to open by Feb. 1 on the Warner Bros. lot.

"We tend to do well in tourist-related locations," said Charlie Apt, a Ciao Bella partner. "Buying a gelato or sorbet product is very much a discretionary spend, and clearly tourists do quite a bit of that."

While most Ciao Bella shops are 500-1,000 square feet and offer roughly 40 flavors, the company is working on a broader concept that would expand beyond gelato and sorbet to include items such as crepes and stores that are between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet, he said. The smaller Warner Bros. store will have around 22 flavors.

Staff reporter Rebecca Flass can be reached at [phone], ext. 230, or at [e-mail].