Justin Chung’s Gresescent Magic

South Park’s newest edition comes in the form of an ice cream boutique with a name and meaning that only a few may have ever heard of. Yet the team behind the name at Gresescent, co-founders Justin Chung and Jane Kim, have perfected the art of magic when it comes to their fresh organic selection of ice cream flavors.

Centrally located in South Park on 8th and Olive Street, sits a new artisan style ice-cream shop. It’s Gresescent allowing Downtown to indulge in ice cream that makes you feel right at home.

Where did the name Gresescent come from?

It was born as a childhood prank. One of our partners as a child found it odd that restaurants used so many fancy words to describe their food. So he came up with a fancy sounding fake word, Gresescent, to go around gourmet ice cream shops to ask if their ice cream was “gresescent.” Sure enough, he got many of the workers agreeing that their ice cream was gresescent. After many years, now that we were starting our own ice cream business, we thought it was only appropriate that we call ourselves Gresescent, which now means the “magic of ice cream”.

How long has Gresescent been around?

We started coming up with the flavors and perfecting our recipes since 2014. We sold our first scoop in December 2015, and the DTLA shop opened officially in late September 2016.

What makes Gresescent different from other ice cream shops in downtown?

We’d have to say it’s the way we view ice cream. To us, ice cream is not something we have to do anything crazy to make it good. We believe ice cream is magical in its purest form, so we try to take away any potential barriers to magic such as bad ingredients, bad customer service, unnecessary gimmicks, and even low-quality napkins and spoons that may ruin the magic of ice cream. The result is the pure joy that brings an immediate smile to your face.

How many flavors is Gresescent currently serving?

Are there plans to add more?

We currently have 25 official flavors available. We are also working on many more right now. We go through an extensive taste testing to make sure our flavors are well-balanced and are true to the name and the ingredients that we use.

Are all the flavors made in house?

Yes. We make most of the ingredients from scratch. For example, we bake the lemon bars with freshly squeezed lemon juice for the Lemon Bar flavor; we roast fresh pecans with brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon for our Spiced Maple Pecan flavor; and we make all the cookies and pies from scratch except for Oreos.

Tell us about the ingredients Gresescent uses.

Ingredient selection is one of the most important part of our mission to preserve the magic of ice cream. We use all organic dairy from Straus Creamery, one of the highest quality chocolates from Valrhona Chocolate, Nielsen Massey Madagascar Vanilla Beans, fresh fruits from local farmers markets, and more.

Do you have any limited time only/seasonal flavors?

Yes, we do. For the Fall/Winter Season, we have Honey Graham Pumpkin Cheesecake, Nutmeg Ginger Cookie, Salted Caramel Butter Cake. Also, some of the fruit flavors like Strawberry Jam is only available in Spring/Summer because we only use fresh fruits from farmer’s markets.

What are the 3 best selling flavors? Why do you think they are so popular?

Vanilla Bean Cookie and Cream, Blackberry Mint Mojito, Grilled Pineapple Bourbon Caramel. Our flavor principle is to make flavors that are simple and delicious, different yet familiar. We believe all three of these flavors remind you of something you’ve tasted before with a little bit of a twist to make it a truly magical experience.

What is your favorite flavor?

My current favorite is Barley Milk Tea. It’s a traditional Asian tea turned into ice cream. I recommend it to our customers whenever it’s available!

Are there plans of expansion?

Our primary goal is to grow together with the Downtown LA community.

There you have it! Gresescent is the definition of a magical tasting ice cream, quite literally. Creating a rich and creamy recipe with a twist is a craft they have perfected. If you don’t believe us, their 5 stars on Yelp just might. Either way, if you haven’t tried this place you are depriving yourself of a great tasting dessert…or meal, we won’t judge you!

Gresescent is located at 850 S Olive St. Los Angeles. You can also indulge in their magic on Wednesdays between 10am – 2pm at the Pershing Square Farmers Market (532 Olive St.) and every Friday from 10am – 2pm at the BOA Center (333 S Hope St).