Azúcar Is Sprinkling Some Sugar In Little Havana

Suzanne “Suzy” Batlle grew up feasting on her grandma’s sundaes after dinner. It became a South Florida ritual in the Cuban household 

So, naturally, when she had kids of her own—Tommy and Bianca—she continued the tradition. 

But when Batlle was wrestling through a divorce, thyroid cancer and being laid off from Bank of America in 2008, eating ice cream became more than just a tradition.

It became her business. 

“My kids kept telling me, ‘Why don’t you open an ice cream shop?’ and I was like, ‘That’s so dumb. Why would I do that?’” Batlle recalls. “They just kept on, and I kept thinking about it. Finally, I said, ‘Well, I don’t know how to make ice cream, but I’ll go to school to learn how to make [it].’”

So she attended Penn State’s Ice Cream Short Course in Pennsylvania and Scoop School in St. Louis, Missouri to learn how to make the frozen desert. 

Today, her children’s idea is melting the hearts of customers in the soul of Little Havana after she launched Azúcar, a homemade Cuban ice cream shop on Calle Ocho, in 2011.

Four years later, she was part of the first cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program at MDC. The 12-week program helps small businesses improve their networking and entrepreneurship skills.

“When I went to college, there wasn’t even social media, so stuff that didn’t even exist before has come into play in business,” Batlle said. “[The] school taught [me] everything.”

Now she can virtually pitch her signature flavors like Freshman 15, which has vanilla ice cream, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and oreos. It was named by the shop’s Instagram (@azucaricecream) followers. 

Azúcar is located at 1503 S.W. 8th St. It offers more than 50 flavors and sells ice cream pints, cakes and T-shirts with Cuban sayings such as “Ya tu sabes!” (you already know) and does catering.

As customers enter the store, they are greeted by a 3-D ice cream cone sculpture topped with five scoops of ice cream and a neon sign that reads, “Azucar ice

cream company.” 

The Cuban-themed store, which cost $280,000 to build, features seats upholstered with guayaberas and plastic, a painting of Celia Cruz, light fixtures with hanging ice cream cones and a chalk wall with the names of flavors.

“I’ve always been a lover of art,” Batlle said. “I started buying art from everybody in [Little Havana] and I feel that’s helpful for many reasons. It helps the people in the neighborhood and keeps the culture [alive].”

Azúcar’s signature flavors include their trademarked “Abuela Maria”—vanilla ice cream mixed with guava, cream cheese and Maria cookies—and “Cafe con Leche,” a Cuban coffee-flavored ice cream with Oreo chunks.

Denise Galvez Turros, a weekly customer for more than a decade, says, “Ever since I tried the Cafe con Leche flavor, it literally became my [and my kids’] favorite ice cream. We often will go just to buy pints of it to stock up the fridge.”

Patricia De la Rosa, Batlle’s childhood best friend and Azúcar’s chief of operations since 2013, recalls the moment when the shop’s name and slogan were created.

“We were going back and forth and [Batlle] said, ‘How about something with Celia Cruz?’ My brain just said, ‘No, no, just name it Azúcar,’” De la Rosa recalls. “Then my daughter walked in and she goes, ‘We like it sweet.’”

Azúcar opened in July of 2011 on Cultural Friday, a free event that celebrates the history and culture of Little Havana on the third Friday of every month. 

“On that day, I called my friends and family because I didn’t have workers,” Batlle said. “Everybody came to help me and all of [a] sudden [it was] awesome. I was running out of ice cream.”

They sold out. Batlle woke up at 3 a.m. the following day to make more ice cream. Since then, she has hired three ice cream makers.

Azúcar has gained popularity throughout the years and been showcased on television networks and magazines like Food Network, Univision and People. 

Batlle has continued to expand the Azúcar brand. In 2018, she opened a 1,200 sq. ft. shop in Dallas after her mom moved to the city. It closed last July because of a lease dispute with the landlord and a gelato maker.

Last February, Batlle opened another location in Pinecrest, 11429 S Dixie Hwy.

Azúcar products are now found at  hotels such as the Loews in Miami Beach and Coral Gables, the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne and Coral Gables, and the Confidante Miami Beach by Hyatt.

They will also be featured at upcoming community events like the South Beach Wine & Food Festival from Feb. 22-25 and Miami Vice’s 40th anniversary reunion in September.

“You just gotta keep throwing the ball forward,” Batlle said. “That’s what I look forward to every day.”

For more information about Azúcar, visit https://www.azucaricecream.com/

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