The corner of Ballantyne Village where the gelato counter sits next to the foosball table is an unusual layout for a dessert shop. It's also the entire point.
Tifa Chocolate and Gelato has been at 14835 Ballantyne Village Way since 2021, but the version most BCC neighbors know — the one with games, the lit-up arcade machine, the resident French bulldog who works a few shifts a week — is the Sibner version. Cheri and Russ Sibner took over the business in 2023, kept what was working, and added what made it feel less like a dessert shop and more like a neighborhood gathering place.
"When you have a good thing going, do not change it," Russ says. "We've tweaked things here and there, but we've learned to stick with what we are good at."
The day-to-day is mostly Russ. Cheri is a full-time scrub nurse, which means most of the family overlap with the business happens on Saturdays and certain holidays. "Cheri is a full-time scrub nurse, so we only see each other a few times during the week," Russ says. "But those are the times we tend to appreciate and enjoy."
The product line has a clear center: 24 flavors of gelato, made in-house daily in small batches. New flavors rotate weekly, with extras for holidays and the occasional alcohol-infused gelato for special events. Groundwork organic coffee anchors the café side. Mini cheesecakes, macarons, specialty cake slices, and the 9-inch gelato cookie cake — the one Russ calls the "wow factor" — round out the case.
The atmosphere is what makes Tifa Tifa. Foosball in the front of the house. Chive TV on a screen most regulars stop noticing within a week. Recent interior updates that quietly tell the story of where the shop has been since 2021. And Bella, the resident French bulldog, who keeps a few shifts a week and has accumulated her own following.
The community ties have widened steadily under the Sibners. Tifa hosts BNI meetings and workshops. A standing partnership with the Ballantyne School of Music brings live performances into the space. Painting nights and other small-format events are in the planning stage. The shop also turns up as a vendor at Ballantyne Village markets and at local festivals when one fits.
The next chapter, by the Sibners' own framing, is about doing more of this. Plans are in motion for a second, larger location — a "Charlotte 2.0," as they've nicknamed it — that builds on what the Ballantyne shop has taught them. No specific opening date is on the table yet.
Russ's one-line framing of the business has stayed the same since Day 1: "We're selling an experience and a memory."
Tifa Chocolate and Gelato. 14835 Ballantyne Village Way, Suite 130, Charlotte, NC 28277. Hours: 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday. (704) 910-0004. tifachocolateandgelato.com.
Tifa Chocolate and Gelato is featured in the May 2026 issue of Stroll Ballantyne Country Club.