Let the ice cream wars begin: with the popular Long Beach Creamery—which will also be opening a location at Steelcraft in Bellflower —and the recently opened Hug Life already making their mark, Santa Barbara-based Rori’s Artisanal Creamery will be making its Long Beach debut after moving into the Los Angeles area nearly three years ago.

Moving into the SteelCraft space at Bixby Knolls, this location will be the sixth the line of ice cream shops—and mark owner Rori Trovato’s first shop in her hometown. Launched by Trovato in 2000, Rori’s will give Long Beach its first taste of Trovato’s ice cream tacos as well as flavors such as Cup O’ Joe Spinelli, Brown Sugar Banana and Malted Milk Ball.

“When I first heard about SteelCraft, I raced down from Santa Barbara,” Trovato said. “I had been dying to open a shop in my hometown of Long Beach. SteelCraft was so my style, all the vendors at the top of their game and it was such a family-­friendly, cool vibe.”

To honor the opening, Trovato will be open the space from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. this Saturday, June 22, offering free scoops to the community.

“I have always wanted to bring organic, small batch, authentic ice cream to the table,” Trovato stated. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Long Beach taste our bold, creamy flavors that make Rori’s the most bad­ass ice cream in California. It’s such a thrill to be a part of SteelCraft and to be back home.”

SteelCraft’s success has other cities yearning for their own versions and has prompted Howard CDM, the construction and development partner behind SteelCraft, to build a second location in Garden Grove as well as a third in Bellflower. While the Garden Grove location is still under construction, the Bellflower location will have its grand opening tomorrow, June 13, showcasing locally-based brands like Ten Mile Brewing, Long Beach Creamery and Prime by Shenandoah.

SteelCraft in Bixby Knolls is located at 3768 Long Beach Blvd.

Brian Addison is a columnist and editor for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.