Family-owned Mexican ice cream shop opens in SLO County
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After a year of construction-related delays, the Medina family opened the bright and colorful Ice Cream Shop La Michoacana in Atascadero in late October.
La Michoacana owners Ramiro and Mayra Medina purchased the building at 4220 El Camino Real in the Kmart shopping center last year and had planned to open in January, but faced delays with building and permitting.
“The contractors here are so backed up, they couldn’t take new clients,” Mayra Medina said. “It was pretty hard.”
Until about a month ago, the family commuted from King City to Atascadero to handle logistics with standing up the business. After a busy year, the Medina family, which includes five children ages 16 to 11, relocated to Atascadero and officially opened the family-owned ice cream shop.
“The kids are happy at school,” Ramiro Medina said. “It’s very nice out here.”
Ice cream shop brings Mexican flavors to SLO County
The menu at La Michoacana extends beyond just ice cream, serving signature treats from Mexico, such made-to-order juices, paletas or ice pops, raspados or shaved ice, and biónico or fruit salad.
“Everything is made as you order,” business owner Ramiro Medina told the Tribune in November 2021. “Everything, we chop them up right there and then,” he said of the the biónicos.
La Michoacana in Atascadero is a spin-off from King City’s Paleteria Y Neveria La Michoacana, the business started by Ramiro Medina’s parents Jose and Paulina Medina nearly 18 years ago.
The Atascadero and King City locations of La Michoacana differ from the national ice pop chain that shares the same name and other local ice cream stores because of their commitment to using fresh, not artificial, ingredients.
“Anything that is ordered is fresh,” Ramiro Medina said. “All our ice creams are homemade.”
The business had a soft opening about a week and a half ago where they served everything but their ice cream due to permitting, but after the approval came in to process dairy, the ice cream shop was up and running, Mayra Medina said.
The theme of the ice cream shop is classic cars and ice cream, a spin-off of the well-known cars and coffee.
Ramiro Medina is still working on decor but said he hopes that classic car owners will come show off their rides during the grand opening once its announced.
Ice Cream Shop La Michoacana gathering place for local children
So far, Mayra and Ramiro Medina have been running things while their children are in school, but after school gets out the older children will don their aprons to help out their parents.
“It’s a place for them to hang out and do their homework,” Ramiro Medina said. “It’s nice to see kids in here enjoying themselves instead of being out there getting into trouble.”
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Beyond an abundance of Mexican novelties, the ice cream shop has classic arcade games like Whack-a-mole, prize dispensers and more entertainment to keep kids smiling and eating ice cream.
Ramiro Medina said he’ll soon be connecting with a jobs program to recruit high school students looking for part-time work, but for now, it’s a family-run enterprise.
“(The kids) are excited to help out here,” he said.
Ice Cream Shop La Michoacana is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Sunday, at 4220 El Camino Real in Atascadero.
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This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
