On your left are freezer cases of the store’s ice cream and popsicles, which are hand-made in the back. On the left wall is large poster of numerous photos of items you’ll likely not recognize the names of, but if you’re like me, the pictures will make you want to try them all.
The business began about six years ago, when Alejandra Aguirre began selling mangonada desserts from the home she shares with husband Javier Marrufo and two daughters. As Marrufo explained, “my wife, she's always been an entrepreneur. She's always trying to figure out the best way to be successful. And I think this came about from knowing that our community didn't have anything of that sort at the time. She got very interested in that. She went all the way to Tennessee to get some classes from a very well-known chef from Mexico.”
When neighbors began to complain about customers’ cars parked on the street in front of their house, Aguirre began to think of store locations, finally finding a spot on Walnut Street in Hope’s downtown.
“We started going slow, just fixing her place up to her standards, where she could get the most out of her business,” Marrufo said. “There were hiccups here and there, like everything else when you start something new. Certainly, you start perfecting things. We started getting involved with the people that would go there and asking for opinions, what could we change to make it better? She's always the type of person that she wants to sell nothing but the best.”
Marrufo described some of the menu items La Mangonada is proudest of: “I think the name [of the store] says it all, the Mangonada is what we're mostly known for. That comes with the fresh mango and candy on top. We’re very known for also our churros. A lot of people look for that and our ice popsicles, or whatever you want to call them. Everything is homemade. We make everything there at the store. All of our ice cream is homemade. All of our popsicles are homemade. There's some that she [Aguirre] made herself. She came up with the only recipe.”
The abundance of different items is quite impressive, as well, including tasty beverages. “Our fresh waters, we're known because of that,” Marrufo said. “I believe there's a little bit of everything that people go out there for. We have so so many people go in there and it's hard to pin one whole item and say, ‘This is our best seller, yes, because, thank God, we have a whole bunch of things that actually sell that very good.”
Aguirre adds, “We have a little bit of everything, like spicy, not-spicy; cold, hot; nachos, mini pancakes, churros.”
The store’s busiest time is usually right after school, right after church and during the warmer months. Aguirre added that in the later summer, one of their sherbet flavors becomes much more in demand: watermelon. “We have a little bit right now, because people keep asking. It's like I told them. It's not as good as when it's summer, because the watermelons are fresh and we use the watermelons from the farmers that are around so it's not in season now. But we have here a little bit right now. We just make a batch, six liters for the people that want to try it,” she said.
The store has two tables set up to accommodate customers but in the next week the business will be expanding, knocking out a wall to provide for more room for those who would like to sit down with their treats. Aguirre said the store will be closed next week as the work is done.
La Mangonada Neveria & Snacks is open during the winter months Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It will be closed next week for expansion, but after it reopens there will be more room and more tables. Aguirre said that during the summers, the store opens on Tuesdays as well.
