Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Batlle.
Suzanne, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My story started when I was laid off from my mortgage banking job in 2008. I had to hustle as I had two children, cancer and a divorce shortly after. My children prodded me to open an ice cream store.
I thought why not? We are a family that ate ice cream every night and loved it.
I did not know how to make ice cream, so I went to Penn States world renowned ice cream program. I also went to the Frozen Dessert Institute in St. Louis.
I wanted to make the store the most Cuban of all ice cream stores and that is my heritage. I decided that there was no other place on Earth that could host such a place as, Little Havana in Miami!
And so my story started here. I was born and raised in Miami with very deep Cuban roots. I wanted the flavors to give Cubans a taste of Cuba!
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My inspiration is my Grandmother. She made ice cream in Cuba the old-fashioned way (by hand)! My Grandfather was a sugar mill engineer and they lived in Central and South America so she was able to make ice cream from the various fruits from each country.
She never made ice cream after the exile from Cuba but rest assured that we ate ice cream every day! Ice Cream is in my DNA.
We create new flavors every week. We purvey our fruits and vegetables in Homestead, Florida.
We make all our ice cream home-made. Everyday.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Every bank has their own set of rules and regulations on lending. Just because one bank says No, doesn’t mean that another one won’t say Yes!
Try and try and try again!
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can come and visit our store in Little Havana, Miami or they will be able to come see us in Dallas at Bishop Arts by the end of the month. we are also at various restaurants in Miami and serve at the Loew’s Hotel in Miami Beach.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1503 SW 8th Street Miami , Fl 33135 269 North Bishop avenue dallas , TX 75208
- Website: www.azucaricecream.com
- Phone: 3053810369
- Email: SUZY@AZUCARICECREAM.COM
- Instagram: @azucaricecream
- Facebook: azucar ice cream
- Twitter: azucar ice cream
Image Credit:
tomas lowry for the one with me handing the cone to my daughter in cone suit, Food Network for raining sprinkles on my head, Savanah De la Fuente for the front of the store.
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