Fresh Start for Ventura Bakery
Each day Roberto Maravilla, co-owner of Robely Café and French Bakery with Mariela Elizabeth “Liz” Ocampo, puts out a stunning display of hand-crafted pastries and baked goods that reflect any and all influences that strike his fancy. One day it’s all strudels. The next day might be scones, or focaccia, or cinnamon rolls. And each day customers come in and grab a coffee from Liz to sip alongside their pastry as they sit on the tree-canopied patio across the street from the Majestic Ventura Theater in downtown Ventura.
Roberto learned his craft over 19 years working at Xanadu French Bakery in Montecito before it closed in 2015. He’s been working as a chef ever since, finding solace in the kitchen after his wife died two years ago. Liz was a professional criminal lawyer in Mexico before coming to Oxnard 10 years ago with her American husband, with whom she worked on the business side of his squid import/export company. That marriage ended two years ago, although the two remain friends.
Liz says that once she saw the work Roberto could do, she wanted to go into business with such a talent. They felt that each could bring a needed skill for a business, and they emphasize that there’s no personal relationship. It’s all business.
They were discussing concepts around the time Roberto walked by the empty Marie Shannon Confections spot on Chestnut Street. (Former owner Shannon Wright closed the store in summer 2022 in favor of made-to-order baking.) He immediately called his business partner, who came rushing.
“It was perfect. I knew immediately. When you know to do it, you do it,” says Liz. They combined their names “Rob” for Roberto and “Ely” for Elizabeth because that is what her family calls her—Robely. And they opened in January 2023.
Liz says people will come inside before they realize that it’s a new place, in spite of the change in décor. Once they’re told it’s no longer the former shop, the people sometimes walk out without tasting anything. It confounds the business partners.
Liz does all customer service, marketing, bookkeeping and operations work. She’s also the barista for the shop. Roberto is the artist who works his magic in the bakery in the back of the shop.
In addition to the daily display, Roberto also bakes cakes and bread to order—baguettes, sourdough, focaccia, rye, wheat.
As the holiday season approaches, Roberto says he’s planning special tamales with unique flavors like turkey or mushroom, which will be sold individually or by special order for bigger quantities.
Robely Café and French Bakery
27 S. Chestnut, Ventura
805-628-9092
Instagram: @robelycafe
