"We specialize in making authentic, high-quality Hispanic flavors such as horchata strawberry, mamey mango, Mexican vanilla, mangonada, and more," the co-founder of Sol Dias, Victor Garcia, said. "We use real ingredients and churn much longer than traditional ice cream, which allows us to extract the maximum amount of flavor."
It all started when the Garcia family immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 from Jalisco, Mexico, a city known for authentic ice cream and paletas. Cultural ties and family upbringing inspired Garcia to open his own business, and three years later, he opened his first paleteria serving treats like churros, elotes, aguas frescas and many other treats. Since then, they have opened five stores within the North Texas area.
Sol Dias is one of 150 businesses to participate in Qurate Retail Group and NRF’s Small Business Spotlight program, which supports small businesses affected by the pandemic.
"We accepted reality quickly and knew that things would never be the same. Safety was our priority. We relocated our customer-serving side of the business to a great drive-thru spot. This limited interaction and increased convenience," Garcia said.
"Additionally, we invested heavily in our website, making it easy for customers to place orders and listing our products on as many third-party delivery sites as possible. Finally, we created lots of grab-and-go options such as packed quarts of ice cream, Mexican jello (gelatinas), and dulces enchilados." With a new location and hopes for expanding outside of Texas, the Garcias are looking forward to bringing in new customers and making a name for themselves.
"Our big goal is to be the most recognized brand of Hispanic treats in the U.S. We've got a ways to go, but we understand this is a very long marathon and one foot in front of the next is how we get there," Garcia said.
Sol Dias Ice Cream, 3621 N. Belt Line Road (Irving) 11 a.m. to 10 p.m Monday - Sunday
