Guanabana Artisan Ice Pops is opening its first storefront at The Palms at Gate Parkway.
The city issued a permit Aug. 8 for AEC Integrated of Jacksonville to renovate the 1,570-square-foot space at 7540 Gate Parkway, Unit 107, at a project cost of $125,000 for Guanabana Jax.
“We are opening our very first brick-and-mortar store at The Palms at Gate Parkway. After 10 years as a mobile vendor, starting with just our cool tricycle and handcrafted ice pops and later expanding to a food truck with an even bigger menu, we felt it was time for this big step,” said Julieta Mosqueda, co-owner and managing partner by email July 16.
The shop is on the first floor of Building 2 – the largest and central of the three-structure Palms at Gate Parkway, which is north of IKEA and the connection to Interstate 295.
Surage & Associates LLC of Ponte Vedra is the architect.
Plans show ice cream and ice pop display freezers; service, prep, kitchen and walk-in cooler areas; and limited seating.
“We chose The Palms at Gate Parkway because we believe it’s the perfect location for our first store. It’s such a central and beautiful spot and easily accessible. We think it’s the ideal place for everyone to come and enjoy our treats,” Mosqueda said.
She said the “mobile journey has been fantastic, but we often heard from our customers that it was tough to catch us. People would call to find out where we were, and sometimes our truck just wasn’t out that day. We felt terrible disappointing them, so opening a permanent location where everyone can drop by anytime was a no-brainer.”
She said the storefront is the start of more.
“We have dreams of opening more locations in the future to share our amazing treats with even more people.”
The website is guanabanaicepops.com. It says its ice pops “are handcrafted with only the freshest and high quality ingredients in small batches to guarantee freshness and quality.”
Flavors include chocolate, creamy coconut, Colombian coffee, cucumber lime, mango, froots, guanabana, pina colada, strawberry and more.
The site says guanabana is a white tropical fruit from Central and South America that is rich in vitamins B and C.
“This unique creamy sweet flavor is our favorite fruit. Some people have described the flavor as a combination of strawberry and pineapple while others praise the mixture of sweet and sour.”
The site says the idea began in 2014. Oliver and Julieta Mosqueda registered Guanabana & Co. LLC with the state that June.
The Jacksonville couple were parents to three young children. Coming from Colombia and Venezuela, they wished that they could find more tropical foods and flavors where they lived. They also wanted to create a product that would keep the kids happy and healthy.
They decided on ice pops and to call the company Guanabana after the fruit found in Colombia, Venezuela, and other tropical countries.
They developed pops that were 100% fruit and took them on the road to festivals and events with their ice pop tricycle.
They added a dessert truck in 2016 to include smoothies, fruit bowls and desserts, including the macaroon ice cream sandwiches.
“Look out for our tricycle and bright green dessert truck in North Florida,” the site says.