An’s Gelato Named No.2 in America; Free Scoops Offered on July 1 at Ocean Beach Shop
San Diego’s An’s Gelato company has been named the No. 2 independently owned ice cream shop in America in USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards, which were announced Wednesday. It’s the fourth year the local company has been ranked in the USA Today contest. An’s ranked No. 1 in 2025 and 2024, and No. 2 in 2023.
An’s operates four shops in San Diego County, including Ocean Beach where in 2025, they opened An’s Electronic Repair in a former phone repair shop. A fifth is set to open soon in Oceanside’s iconic Top Gun House. The judges praised An’s for its scratch-made gelato and unique flavors, like brown butter, brookies (brownies and cookies), watermelon and mint sorbet. The judges also noted An’s generous sampling policy, where employees encourage visitors to taste all seven flavors of the day before they buy.
To celebrate the latest 10Best honor, An’s scoop shops in OB, Normal Heights, and Del Mar will give away one free small gelato cup or cone per customer from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 1, while supplies last. Then the shops will close for the rest of that day to give employees the evening off.
An’s serves small-batch, scratch-made Italian-style gelato, a silky and intensely flavored style of ice cream with less fat and air. Over the years, the company has created more than 600 flavors. Each location serves seven gelato flavors, which change every two to four weeks.
The company was launched in 2018 in an empty 1934-era Normal Heights storefront previously occupied by An’s, a Martinizing and tailoring shop. To honor the neighborhood’s history, company founders Kris Warren, Bailey, David Aguilera and Jimmy Blalock decided to name their first shop An’s Dry Cleaning, and they created flavors named after fabrics. SDU-T
Nova Easy Kombucha Closes Tasting Room in Ocean Beach
Nova Easy Kombucha has quietly closed its tasting room in San Diego’s Ocean Beach, ending the brand’s nearly six-year run on Newport Avenue. The hard kombucha-focused taproom at 4845 Newport Avenue has shuttered without a public closure announcement from Nova or parent company Novo Brazil Brewing.
The Ocean Beach tasting room opened in October 2020 in the space previously occupied by Culture Brewing Company. At the time, the location represented a major step forward for Nova Easy Kombucha, the hard kombucha sister brand of South Bay-based Novo Brazil Brewing. For Ocean Beach, the arrival of Nova was notable. The neighborhood already had a dense collection of beer bars and brewery tasting rooms, but Nova positioned itself as something different: a beach-community taproom built around hard kombucha at a time when the category was rapidly gaining popularity.
Founded by Brazilian entrepreneur Tiago Carneiro, Novo Brazil Brewing launched in Chula Vista in 2015 and quickly became one of the South Bay’s most prominent craft beverage companies. The Ocean Beach taproom helped give the brand a public-facing home outside South County. The venue featured more than 20 kombucha and craft beverage taps, an outdoor patio, game room, kid- and dog-friendly seating, and a colorful design meant to match the laid-back spirit of Ocean Beach. SanDiegoVille
New Pizza in the Midway: Midway Social Club
They specialize in Wood-Fired Pizzas and Neapolitan Style Pizza, made with Organic Ingredients. The new Midway Social Club is located at 3545 Midway Dr, Ste. E. (Phone: 858-415-7819) They’re open 5 days a week, closed Tues. and Wed.
Denny’s on Rosecrans Has Closed
The longtime Denny’s restaurant at 1601 Rosecrans Street in Point Loma appears headed toward closure after the property was quietly listed for lease, raising questions about the future of one of the city’s oldest surviving locations of the iconic American diner chain. Commercial real estate marketing materials are now advertising the approximately 3,500-square-foot restaurant space as a “rare freestanding opportunity” on a half-acre parcel along one of Point Loma’s busiest commercial corridors
