Camarillo Hits the Mark for Pizza...
“We’ve basically been in the process of opening for the two years,” says Phil Adler, owner and co-founder of Freda’s Kitchen, named after his mother and inspiration for opening the wood-fired kitchen: Freda Garber. “[My business partner and I] had a restaurant in Moorpark and sold it, and were pretty happy for the next couple years with our two mobile ovens doing pizza for private events, and then we were approached to open here.”
Finally, in February 2021, just before restrictions began to lift, The Mark in Old Town Camarillo opened with modified outdoor seating to offer the community a place to enjoy food created by local artisans. The co-op-styled location includes pizza by Freda’s Woodfired Kitchen, ice cream from Rori’s Artisanal Creamery, and local craft beer from Topa Topa Brewing Company. Each artisan has their own space inside the building, but the community can enjoy all the offerings in common seating areas. Café Ficelle is in the same complex, but separate from the shared space.
“The developers of The Mark came to us a few years ago and we thought their vision for this property was great. One of our core values is community spirit, so operating a satellite taproom out of a shared space embodies that value,” says Jack Dyer, co-founder of Topa Topa Brewing Company.
Being in such close proximity creates a natural forum for collaborations between artisans. Along with Neapolitan and New York–style pizza, Freda’s serves sandwiches like the Cuban made with slow-roasted pork marinated in Topa Topa’s beer and bread from Café Ficelle. The short ribs used in their short-rib sandwich are braised using Topa Topa’s beer as well.
“This summer we are happy to bring in summer salads as well as a house-made pretzel using beer-made mustard with beer from Topa Topa and a cheese sauce,” says Adler.
Rori’s Creamery opened with a special Topa Topa beer and bacon- flavored ice cream only available for the first month.
“We are so pleased to be a part of The Mark and the Old Town Camarillo community,” says Rori Trovato, owner. “This is a new territory for Rori’s Creamery, which always comes with its challenges. One of those challenges is how the community will receive us. It has been overwhelmingly positive.”
That sentiment is clearly shared. “Camarillo, as a city, is a wonderful place to be. They’ve welcomed us; they’ve been pretty nice to us. We’re certainly happy to be here,” says Adler.
And says Dyer, “We are just very excited and humbled to bring our brewery’s fresh beer to another great community along the southern Central Coast. We look forward to getting to know the fine folks of Camarillo and building long-lasting friendships with our food partners at The Mark.”
“This is the place to be this summer!” says Trovato.
And we agree.
The Mark 2024 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo
