The inside of Sweet Treats Las Comadres features a picturesque aesthetic to keep teenagers in Edinburgh during the summer. Elissa Maudlin | Daily Journal
A new Edinburgh ice cream shop is incorporating standard flavors with Mexican tradition, all while creating a social media-worthy atmosphere.
Sweet Treats Las Comadres opened April 6 in downtown Edinburgh at 114 E. Main Cross St., in a storefront that was formerly Greek’s Pizzeria. The shop offers homemade ice cream and themed decor that transports patrons into an ice cream dreamland.
For ice cream, people will find traditional flavors like strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, alongside Mexican-inspired flavors including queso and rompope. The shop also offers a blend of Mexican and American options, including popsicles made with natural fruit, hot dogs, mini pancakes and Mexican snacks like chicharron preparado and elote, along with dorilocos, which is a walking taco.
The name of the restaurant means co-mothers in Spanish and it speaks to the two owners’ family relationships. Co-owners Rocio Rios and Lupita Quezada have been co-mothers for a long time.
“For the last 20 years, they’ve kind of been into this parenting thing together,” Yajaira Quezada said, who is Rocio Rios’ daughter and Lupita Quezada’s niece. “When I moved to Indiana, Lupita was kind of the person who was looking after me. She was looking after me while I was at Franklin College, while my parents were away, and then my parents moved here. So they decided, if we can co-parent these kids together, why not start a business endeavor?”
Family members also own El Potro, and when Greek’s Pizzeria was selling, Rios and Lupita Quezada thought it would be a great opportunity to bring a modern take on ice cream to a historic building in Edinburgh.
“Their grand mission has really been giving the teenagers, especially the high school students, somewhere to stick around for the summer,” Yajaira Quezada said.
A lot of teenagers want to go to Greenwood or Indianapolis for fun, so the family had the idea to give the small town ice cream shop big city flavor. People can get ice cream and treats while taking Instagram-worthy selfies with decor including ice cream tables and chairs, a swing decorated this flowers, a grass wall with a neon sign, a flower-draped ceiling, and more.
The aesthetic, along with a few added perks such as a foosball table and a Pac-Man arcade machine, are new things to keep teens in Edinburgh over summer break, Yajaira Quezada said.
Lupita Quezada’s daughter Jazmin and son Jesus, also work at the shop. Jazmin Quezada has been leading the charge on the aesthetic and modernization of the shop since she knows “all about everything trendy,” while Yajaira Quezada handles the social media, she said.
The shop is “a complete 180” from what it used to look like and the team “worked from the ground up” to fully redecorate and open up the space, Yajaira Quezada said.
The biggest goal is to show that businesses can thrive in Edinburgh.
“We’re just wanting to show other small business owners here in Edinburgh that something can thrive here when you’re pitching it in the right way,” Yajaira Quezada said. “We know there are so many lovely places. I know we have a popcorn shop. We have Simple Abundance. Edinburgh is full of hidden gems. So we’re just wanting to kind of bring a little bit of modernization of what social media is and bring it into Edinburgh to just show that there can be success here.”
The ice cream shop is different from what some expect, so there’s “culture shock” surrounding some menu items, but the response has been largely positive, Yajaira Quezada said.
“I think people coming in, it’s just a bit of a culture shock, maybe not what they were expecting,” she said. “So maybe dealing with the feedback on that. Some people have maybe said that our vanilla is not traditional, and we’re like, ‘No, but it’s so good, and it’s homemade, and it’s a good product.’ That’s just a little bit more of not knowing how the community was going to react, but we have been filled with overwhelming support, and it’s been a blessing.”
Lupita Quezada said opening the ice cream shop is “a dream come to reality” and “a really surreal moment.” Rios said she is very proud of what they’ve built and it’s been a dream they’ve had for a while.
Since the shop is women-owned, Rios and Lupita Quezada wanted to inspire other women that they can go after their dreams, be ambitious and take risks, they said.
Yajaira Quezada said she was most excited about seeing her mom and aunt “step into a new era of their lives.”
“They’ve always been moms,” she said. “They’ve always been the supportive wives and everything, but to see them become business owners and seeing them in a different light, and just knowing that they can handle their own and being a support system for them, that has been my favorite part of the entire experience.”
Sweet Treats Las Comadres is open from noon to 9 p.m. seven days a week. For now, the shop is cash only, but the owners are expecting to get a credit card reader within the next few weeks.
The business is active on Facebook and Instagram, there are plans to offer a website with online ordering in the future.
