Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Batlle.
Hi Suzanne, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Suzy Batlle and I am the owner and founder of Azucar Ice Cream in the heart of Little Havana and Dallas, Texas. We are the first of its kind homemade Cuban ice cream. Today is our 11-year anniversary! I was not an ice cream maker always. I was a banker for 20 years when the banking industry plummeted in 2008. I had cancer and was getting divorced with two children. My children kept mentioning that I should open an ice cream shop (we were big ice cream aficionados); I thought it was a stupid idea at the time. I decided to go for it and attended Penn State University’s ice cream school and attended another one in St. Louis. The only place that could house a Homemade Cuban ice cream shop would be Little Havana in Miami. I started making ice cream and serving it. We trademarked an ice cream called “Abuela Maria” containing guava, cream cheese and Maria crackers. It was a hit! Since then, we have served it at the James Beard Foundation in New York City and made it on the Cooking Channel and the Food Network! We also just had our Cafe con Leche in People magazine.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
After 11 years, we have had struggles. The last two years have been a struggle. We always move forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We purvey our fruits and vegetables in the Redlands in Homestead. We try our best to get the sweetest part of the fruits that we make our ice cream from. We like to call it a “Farm to Cone” experience.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We love collaborations and have one every year with Knausberry Farms in Homestead. They make delicious cinnamon rolls from scratch. We buy them and soak them in Bourbon for two days. We make a bourbon ice cream and layer in the cinnamon rolls!
Pricing:
- $5.50 for a scoop
Contact Info:
- Website: www.azucaricecream.com
- Instagram: azucaricecream
- Facebook: azucar ice cream
- Twitter: azucar ice cream
- Yelp: Azucar Ice Cream and Azucar Ice Cream Dallas
