Something New to CRAVE

CRAVE Gelato Kofi Bar is a design-forward, art-filled space located in the heart of Portside Ventura Harbor. Opened in summer of 2023, the story of CRAVE starts back in February 2019 when owner Karynsue Rose-Thomas retired from 25-year career spanning roles as a chief informatics officer in nonprofits and as a naval officer. She intended to use her newfound freedom to design and open a gelato shop.

The unfolding Covid pandemic put a temporary hold on those plans, so Rose-Thomas and her husband, LT, bought a 43-foot bus and drove across America. During this hiatus, Rose-Thomas continued to design her dream shop—besides two master’s degrees, she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in architecture and spent some time practicing as an architect early in her career—and she delved into extensive ingredient research, uncovering treasures from Turkey to Oregon.

These finds include a woman-owned organic olive oil imported from Turkey and organic coffee beans roasted in Mount Shasta, in northern California. Rose-Thomas emphasizes the human connection, choosing ingredients not just for their excellence but for the inspiring stories behind them. “The people are amazing,” she says. “They are entrepreneurs and artisans themselves, women-owned, minority- owned at the top of their craft and have a cool story to tell.”

Rose-Thomas didn’t have a background in cooking, so to come up with her gelato recipes she studied for several months under an Italian chef who made frozen desserts in addition to pastries. Under his guidance she developed a nondairy, organic recipe that, unusually, didn’t rely on a pre-bought base. As with everything at CRAVE, the gelato is made from scratch in-house.

While Rose-Thomas also created CRAVE’s olive oil cake, she brought in a local pastry chef of Italian descent, Daniella Accardi Stroh, to develop more items for the menu, including gluten-free almond scones, almondines, baked donuts and, every Friday through Sunday, focaccia. Current CRAVE best-sellers include horchata gelato and affogatos, and cinnamon-vanilla, maple-rum or bourbon-orange cold brews.

The shop is nondairy, except for dairy milk offered alongside oat and coconut milks for coffee drinkers. “I’m trying to show that you can create nondairy sweets that are good for you,” she says. She draws the connection between plant-based eating and environmental and animal welfare, about which she is passionate, and sums up her reasoning succinctly as “the impetus is to do good.”

CRAVE is also a Certified Green Business through the California Green Business Network in the city of Ventura, a testament to its commitment to sustainable practices.

Another core principle of Rose-Thomas’s vision for CRAVE is community building. “It of course needs to be part of the community,” she says. “I designed it to be part of the community.” She cites several examples of that design, including a big white wall to install community art (which will be Edible-focused from March to May), hosting musicians (currently every Sunday) and supporting and sponsoring teams at local middle and high schools. Other ideas in the works include a car show to benefit nonprofits.

Rose-Thomas attributes her community focus to her lifelong work in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and nonprofits. Her parents’ values are also a substantial influence. Rose-Thomas recalls organizing with them to raise money for charities from the time she was 8 years old.

Given the community-building focus, it’s fitting that CRAVE is integrated into a relatively new neighborhood, Portside Ventura Harbor. Rose-Thomas calls it an “undiscovered gem” with “the best sunset in Ventura.”

The mixed-use development was opened during the early days of Covid and initially only included apartments. It has since evolved into a dynamic hub with services ranging from fitness and wellness to pet care. CRAVE serves as a culinary cornerstone, offering a delectable complement to the community.