Antonio Arreguin-Bermudez has been making helados since he was 10, when he worked at his parents’ ice cream shop in Michoacán, Mexico.
"Back in Mexico, my father, mom, brothers and sisters, that's what they did for a living, so I learned how to make ice cream," Arreguin-Bermudez said. "I slept in the ice cream store with my brothers and grew up smelling all the fresh fruit."
Now, he’s built his own ice cream empire that houses an abundance of authentic Mexican flavors. Named after his partents’ shop, his business, La Flor de Michoacán Paletería y Nevería, opened in Chico in 2012 and has since expanded to locations throughout the North State.
“It’s like an artist mixing all the flavors and colors, especially using all the local fresh fruit.”— Antonio Arreguin-Bermudez, owner of La Flor De Michoacán Paletería y Nevería
"When I'm thinking about ice cream, it brings me memories of when I was a child," Arreguin-Bermudez said. "It's like an artist mixing all the flavors and colors, especially using all the local fresh fruit."
He now has seven ice cream shops of the same name in Chico, Yuba City and Oroville.
But he doesn’t want to stop there. Arreguin-Bermudez said he hopes to expand beyond the North State.
His next goal is to secure a location for an ice cream manufacturing plant. He and his employees currently make the ice cream at each location.
“Hopefully, we will extend in[to] Southern California and Northern California, and maybe go to a different state. Maybe we can do a franchise,” Arreguin-Bermudez said. “But I think it's a legacy that I want to give to my family, and hopefully, they will continue making the business grow.”
From the San Joaquin Valley to making ice cream in Chico
Arreguin-Bermudez left Michoacán for the United States at the age of 14. He worked as a farm worker for a few years in the San Joaquin Valley fields and eventually entered high school in Reedley, California.
He got his master’s degree from Fresno State. He then graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson with a PhD.
In 2002, he moved to Chico to join Chico State’s Department of Languages and Cultures, where he has been a professor for two decades.
His venture back into the helados business came later in life.
On a trip back to Mexico, he discovered his hidden talent for ice cream making while visiting his sister's ice cream shop. He showcased his skills, surprising his family. This revelation sparked a dream to open his own ice cream shop in Chico.
“They looked at me and said, ‘Do you know how to make ice cream?’ I said ‘yeah.’ ‘How come you never told us?’ So I told them I would like to open [a shop] maybe one day in Chico,” he said.
In the spring of 2012, decked out in a bright pink Pepto Bismo bottle color, La Flor De Michoacán Paleteria y Neveria held its grand opening in Chico, in the shopping center on Nord Avenue near Safeway.
Now, all locations are filled with gallons of churned-in-house ice cream.
Amongst La Flor’s vast selection of flavors, you’ll find old family recipes made with fresh tropical fruit; vanilla, strawberry and chocolate are always available for those afraid of risk.
Arreguin-Bermudez attributes the variety of flavors to the abundance of fruit he uses. His fruit is sourced locally from all over California, including Watsonville and Santa Maria.
"This region is rich, we have a lot of fruit," Arreguin-Bermudez said. "So we have to use the local fruit."
Balancing traditional Mexican flavors with new ones
Arreguin-Bermudez's son, Marco, also helps run the business. He said they aim to balance tropical flavors and universal favorites.
“People from the United States, local people, not from Mexico, would like cookies and cream, peanut butter and Snickers. But at the same time, we do sapote, mamay and guanábana, which are tropical fruits,” he said. “And that brings customers from Mexico because they remember back in Mexico when they come in and see those flavors.”
However, introducing new flavors to the state wasn’t always welcome. Arreguin-Bermudez faced various obstacles in starting the business, beginning with his ingredients and flavors.
“But avocado is very traditional in Mexico, but they think more like a Cinco de Mayo, Super Bowl, or on a salsa. They relate it to restaurants, not to ice cream.”— Antonio Arreguin-Bermudez, owner of La Flor De Michoacán Paletería y Nevería
When he was first about to open, an inspector from the state’s agricultural department visited from Stockton. During his initial inspection, the inspector requested a list of the flavors Arreguin-Bermudez planned to produce. The inspector firmly rejected the idea of avocado ice cream when he saw it on the list.
“[He told me ] ‘you’re gonna kill someone,’ then he asked me ‘where do you get the avocados from,’” Arreguin-Bermudez said. “‘You’re not in Mexico, you’re in California.’”
Arreguin-Bermudez said the inspector’s statement was hurtful, as his ice cream creations are an exploration of his culture that symbolize togetherness and family.
"I feel bad because it's something that I learned from my family, so he made me feel like we've been doing something wrong," Arreguin-Bermudez said. "But avocado is very traditional in Mexico, but they think more like a Cinco de Mayo, Super Bowl, or on a salsa. They relate it to restaurants, not to ice cream."
Flavors bring a taste of Central America to the North State
La Flor has more than 40 flavors of ice cream, ranging from creamy to water-based sherberts. Each bin is filled with color. There is also a vast selection of ice cream bars and juice popsicles. Some have fresh slices of fruit, and others are candy-coated.
They also carry a selection of well-known Mexican snacks, including aguas frescas, bionicos, and a fan favorite, fresas con crema.
Fresas con crema is freshly sliced strawberries mixed into a sweetened cream sauce. It’s made by whisking together a few easy-to-find ingredients: sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract.
"As soon as people walk in, they can feel welcome and have a good memory of back home when they were in Mexico, not only from Mexico but Central [and] South America," Arreguin-Bermudez said.
As for the ice cream connoisseur’s favorite flavor? Mango.
“We used to have mango trees in the backyard of our house, so [I] just always liked mango.” Arreguin-Bermudez said.
Arreguin-Bermudez hopes those who visit La Flor will also feel nostalgic for the places they called home.
