Just outside of Pittsburgh in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania, lies a hidden gem that is becoming increasingly popular despite COVID-19’s attempts to close its doors. Crave Frozen Desserts creator and founder Andy Gauvain joins John Matarazzo on this sweet episode of Along the Way on the Charisma Podcast Network to share how God brought Gauvain from a young boy with a sweet tooth to running his own small business in the midst of a pandemic.
Gauvain reflects on some of his childhood ice cream favorites, saying, “One of the ice creams from my childhood was a red, white and blue ice cream. My brother and I just loved this ice cream. Back in 1976, it was a bicentennial year, and so we had a red, white and blue ice cream with little white candy stars, and I never forgot it.” The ice cream has now become an inspiration, he says. “I have since tried to replicate it. And I came pretty close. It’s very good. And I will continue to make another batch.”
In the wake of COVID-19 and both struggling as a small business as well as seeing the need to encourage the community around the shop, Gauvain decided he was in a unique position to give back.
“I saw people reaching out and doing things for the first responders and all the people who were dealing with coronavirus,” he says. So Gauvain decided to send a little bit of sweet, creamy joy their way. He says, “if I could play a little small part of that in and thank McKeesport Hospital for the work that they’ve done over the years to get better care, but also in this environment we find ourselves; it was just a little thing they enjoyed, [and] it was such a fun thing to do.”
Host John Matarazzo said it best about Crave Frozen Desserts, “I think that God’s going to use Crave Frozen Desserts for His glory—beyond just a great place to get ice cream.”
To know more about how God is using this small ice cream shop to minister to the community, listen to the full podcast here.
Sam Jones 
James Lasher 
Abby Trivett