‘Everything I make has a little something extra’: La Michoacana Extreme opens in South Elgin Saturday
Frozen treats with a little something extra are coming to South Elgin on Saturday with the grand opening of La Michoacana Extreme.
The new ice cream and frozen treat shop at 321 Randall Road is the fulfillment of a longtime dream for West Dundee resident Yuli Gasca and her husband, Miguel.
“Everything I make has a little something extra, and I love sharing it with people,” Yuli Gasca said. “I am so excited to bring the first Michoacana to South Elgin.”
While there are lots of La Michoacanas around, most of them aren’t related to each other. The name, which means someone or something from the state of Michoacán in Western Mexico, is used by independent shops that serve a similar style of frozen treats with an emphasis on fresh fruit and other ingredients.
“There are many, many Michoacanas, and we all share the same roots,” Gasca said. “We have to do everything fresh.”
And fresh is the name of the game at La Michoacana Extreme.
Gasca makes all 28 varieties of paletas, frozen treats akin to Popsicles that are usually made from fresh fruits, and 36 flavors of ice creams in the South Elgin shop. She’ll offer about 16 ice cream varieties at a time and also drop in seasonal offerings for her frozen confections.
Her only limit on flavors is her imagination, and she has a vivid imagination.
“In the fall, I want to do a pumpkin paletas or ice cream,” she said. “Right now, I’m thinking about creating a sweet potato paleta. People are always waiting for me to do something different.”
She’s been doing something different since she was 9 years old, selling juices and gelatins.
“Even then it was never just a regular juice, I always added a little something extra,” she said. “I like to give everything my own touch.”
For the last seven years, she’s run a home-based business making custom cakes, coming up with her own flavors to embellish the classic tres leches cakes people enjoy at birthdays, weddings and quinceañeras.
Her intricate, over-the-top designs and flavors became extremely popular, giving her the confidence to bring her love of sweet treats to a brick-and-mortar location.
“When I see the happy faces from kids from my cakes, I want to give that happiness to everyone, and that’s why I decided to do ice cream,” she said. “I’m really so excited.”
Her husband Miguel said Yuli has earned a reputation in the community for her cakes and spot-on flavors.
“Everyone knows that if she sells something, it’s going to be good,” he said.
While her ice cream flavors include classics like vanilla, chocolate and cookies and cream, you can also find a pine nut ice cream or flavors featuring Ferrero Rocher hazelnut chocolates.
Paleta flavors include familiar options like pineapple and strawberry, as well as unique varieties such as avocado, mango with chamoy, guanabana, and spicy watermelon.
The shop will also sell Mexican snacks and treats.
The couple met in the suburbs after each moved to the U.S. from Mexico in the late 1990s. Though they didn’t know each other there, it turns out they lived in neighboring towns just a few miles apart.
She said they want to be an example for others to follow their passions.
“We really want to inspire other people that anything is possible, even if you come from another country,” she said.
The grand opening on Saturday at noon will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, entertainment, and ice cream coupons.