Kelly and Mario Crobu

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

Ciao! I'm Kelly! My husband, Mario, and I own Casa Crobu, a Denver-based authentic Italian gourmet frozen food company. Mario is from Sardegna, Italy, I am from Chicago, and we met in NYC!

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

We love that we have built our family here and also our business!

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

Mario got the idea for our company straight from Italy! Growing up cooking with family, labor-intensive dishes like handmade ravioli or lasagna were made in larger batches and frozen for future meals. We took that same concept and began crafting meals the old-fashioned way to provide totally from-scratch cooking to folks around Denver. After working on recipes for friends and family, we got the chance to make the business official during COVID. We started by offering home delivery, and later expanded to local farmers markets all throughout the Front Range and beyond.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

Biggest advice would be to never take shortcuts or skimp on quality! If you make a good product, people will notice and will become repeat customers instead of buying from you one time.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

Too hard to choose just one! The family who had to have lasagna for their son's first birthday instead of a smash cake, the couples who have chosen our tiramisu for their weddings, the many folks who have sent our meals to families celebrating new babies, and also those who have found comfort in our meals during moments of loss, injury recovery, or just busy family schedules!

Where do you see your company in the future?

We see ourselves in gourmet grocery stores nationwide!

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

The biggest misconception is that convenience and quality can’t go together. Most people assume that if a meal is easy, something has been sacrificed, whether that’s flavor, ingredients, or care. What we see constantly is people being blown away when they try ours. The meals are just as easy as anything else in the freezer aisle, but they’re made from scratch and the quality rivals a restaurant. People expect a trade-off and, when they find there isn’t one, that surprise is my favorite part of what we do.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

Growth is tricky! Every stage of the business comes with its own challenges, so just when you think you've mastered one thing, something new arises!

Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

For Kelly, Beck. For Mario, Iron Maiden.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

You can learn more about our story and our menu offerings on our website! www.casacrobu.com