Our story begins with a love of ice cream. Growing up in the quaint little town of Colonia Juarez, Chihuaha, Mexico, our family loved eating paletas (frozen fruit bars and ice cream bars), helados (ice cream), and aguas frescas (natural fruit drinks). When we grew up and moved north to Arizona, however, we realized that those refreshing treats were nearly impossible to find. So we decided to make them ourselves!

The recipes for these treats had been a closely guarded secret of a few select families from Michoacan, Mexico, over 70 years ago, so we approached one of the fathers, Don Manuel Calderón. We were thrilled when he invited us to apprentice in his shop!

Our brothers, Adam and Nathan Hatch, opened our shop here in downtown Mesa in May 2000. Everything was made by hand, on-site, and with the freshest fruit available, earning such accolades as Best Paletería, Best Ice Cream Shop, and Best Paletas. One columnist even wrote that our “ice cream novelties make Baskin Robbins look like amateurs.”

Adam has since passed away, but we continue the Michoacan legacy and our family business today at Paletas. And of course, our products are made exactly as Don Manuel taught us: by hand, using the freshest fruit and highest quality ingredients we can find.