Meet the Latina who went from learning how to make raspados and paletas at just eight years old to opening her own raspado and bolis (ice pop) business that has reached Hollywood’s movie sets, Dodger Stadium, and now even Super Bowl LVI at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.
Lauda Flores, the founder of Sno Con Amor, was just six-years-old when her family moved from Mexico City to Los Angeles. At that time, her parents were the proud owners of Los Alpes Paletería in Huntington Park, an ice cream shop that at one point offered over 100 flavors of paletas, including a locally famous “frijol” flavored paleta. It eventually became one of Jonathan Gold’s favorite paleterías in L.A.
Like many other children of working-class families who owned food establishments in Los Angeles, Flores remembers the early 5 AM wake-up calls and sleepy rides on the back of her dad’s truck to Grand Central Market, where they would go to buy their produce for the day. She said that’s actually where her negotiating skills came from, seeing how everyone would try and outbid each other for boxes and crates filled with products. “They don’t do that anymore, but I remember I used just to take all that in. I loved it,” she said.
But even so, if you asked the little girl who used to sleep in the back of the paletería on piled-up sugar costales (sacks), if she ever saw herself continuing her family’s tradition of making icy sweets in the future, she would probably laugh and say no.
“Never in a million years, to be exact,” she said via a Zoom interview. “I loved the paletería because it taught me a lot, but as a kid, I hated it because I used to have to work there in the summer while other kids went on vacation. The amount of work was no joke.”
At just 18-years-old, after years of working alongside her parents and learning the art of making unique Mexican paletas, she left the paletería. She opened her first restaurant named La Marimba Mexican Cuisine in downtown L.A. After four years, she sold her restaurant and went on to work in the entertainment industry, where she worked with stars like Salma Hayek and lived a pretty fast-paced life. Because of this, she decided to take a summer “off.” The decision would prove to be life-changing.
“I also just wanted to connect with my community, and that’s when I decided to go to the farmers market, but I didn’t know what I wanted to sell,” she said. “I was always a big fan of the raspados (shaved ice) at my parent’s shop, and I thought I’m going to do that, but with a bit of a healthier twist.”
And she did, what was supposed to be a one-summer, “let’s see how this goes” venture ended up turning into 11 years of business and counting. With 40 years of experience in the art of Mexican frozen treats under her belt, she began crafting flavors like watermelon lime, Mexican Chocolate, Strawberry Rosewater, and her childhood favorite coconut. In total, she offers over 18 different snow cone flavors and 11 different ice pop flavors made with all-natural ingredients.
Her snow cones are only offered at pop-up events, while her ice pops can be ordered online for pick up or delivery. And if you want to experience her pop-ups in person, you could also find her on Sunday’s vending at the Hollywood Farmers Market.
In the last couple of years, Flores has been able to have her ice pops carried at local stores like Cookbook and Wine and Eggs and has served her ice pops at Disney and events like Coachella. Flores’s latest win is her bolis to be one of the featured dessert suppliers at this year’s Super Bowl LVI, staff and family Post-Game Party.
When asked how she has managed her career both in and out of the food industry, she said.
“I owe it to my parents. They are both gone now, and my sister is the closest person I have to thank them, but she tells me my parents would be proud all the time. Also, I credit my dad because he always had this mentality of like you gotta be your own boss, and that has stuck with me all of these years.”
For information on how to order, follow @SnoConAmor on Instagram.
