New Mexican ice cream shop set to open in SLO County – with all kinds of unique treats
Ice Cream Shop La Michoacana will bring the flavors of frozen Mexican novelties to Atascadero early next year, when the family-run business based out of King City opens a spin-off location in northern San Luis Obispo County.
What makes La Michoacana different from other ice cream shops in the area — or the nationwide ice pop chain with a similar name — is the commitment to using fresh ingredients, said Ramiro Medina and his wife and business partner, Mayra Medina.
The new business in Atascadero and the King City location use only fresh ingredients. That means no artificial flavors, dehydrated fruits or added syrups or sugars are used to flavor their sweet treats, Ramiro and Mayra Medina said.
Although “ice cream shop” is in the name, both locations serve made-to-order juices and have many other novelties on the menu, the Medinas said, including paletas or ice pops, raspados or shaved ice, and biónico, which Mayra Medina describes as a Mexican fruit salad.
“Everything is made as you order,” Ramiro Medina said of the biónicos. “Everything, we chop them up right there and then.”
Ramiro and Mayra Medina said they plan to bring the flavors and methods developed over the past 17 years at King City’s Paleteria Y Neveria La Michoacana, which is owned by Ramiro Medina’s parents Jose and Paulina Medina, to their business in Atascadero.
The Atascadero ice cream shop will be located in the old Kmart shopping center in a space that used to be a Cricket Wireless store. The building at 4220 El Camino Real is currently under construction.
“They taste the ice cream (and) they immediately can tell us it’s homemade,” Ramiro Medina said. “Just like the grandparents used to make back then, too.”
“We use everything all fresh the traditional way,” he said.
On a slow day around Christmastime 2019, Mayra Medina said the family started listing off the different flavors of ice cream they’ve created and sold over the years, and came up with more than 98 flavors.
Some of the more unique ice cream flavors include avocado, queso fresco and nopales (cactus), which is Mayra Medina’s favorite. It is water-based and has a light, refreshing taste, she said.
To capture the flavor of Mexican corn on the cob, but as an ice cream, they will encourage the customer to add a sprinkling of chili powder to a scoop of sweet corn and a scoop of queso fresco, creating a mouthwatering contrast between sweet and spicy flavors, she said.
“It brings out a whole different flavor,” Mayra Medina said.
Ice Cream Shop La Michoacana will bring flavors of western Mexico to the Central Coast
Jose and Paulina Medina opened Paleteria Y Neveria La Michoacana in King City in 2004 after their retirement. The elder Medinas immigrated to the United States from Michoacán, a state on the Western coast of Mexico that is known for its cuisine, particularly its fresh fruit flavors, Ramiro and Mayra Medina said.
“My parents had a regular job also, but when they retired, they felt like they couldn’t just be at home,” Ramiro Medina said.
“They wanted something that they could enjoy, and one thing that his mother mentioned is everybody enjoys to sit around with ice cream,” Mayra Medina said.
Since the family knew how to make ice cream and frozen treats from growing up with the world renowned cuisine of Michoacán, they decided to open a store that brings the flavors of their birthplace to the Central Coast, Ramiro Medina said.
At first, it was difficult, because the community was unfamiliar with some of the Mexican flavors in the early 2000s, but since then the business has grown in popularity, Ramiro Medina said.
Although the business was started by Paulina and Jose, the entire family helps operate the shop, and everyone’s input is welcome, including customers, Mayra Medina said.
“One thing their family is very good at, they’ll take the opinion of anyone in the family,” Mayra Medina said.
This is how the business ended up with more than 98 flavors for their various Mexican confections, she said.
If someone in the family or a customer suggests a flavor combination, they will try it and see how it goes. If it passes the taste test, it will go on the menu, Mayra Medina said.
“Everything that we sell, there ain’t nothing that we discontinued,” Ramiro Medina said.
For more information about the business, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/icecreamshoplamichoacana.
