Do you have an interesting update about a local business? Let us know so we can share the news. Ideas can be sent to reporter Daniel Bethers at daniel.bethers@thmedia.com or 563-588-5647.
Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-state area. In addition to this update from Galena, Ill., we will share other developments in Wednesday’s edition.
A new truck is bringing sweets to the streets of the Galena area, serving ice cream and snacks.
The crew at La Michoacana Irmanaju, a Mexican-style ice cream shop and restaurant at 110 S. Main St. in Galena, has crafted something delicious as a family — and they would like the entire tri-state area to have a taste.
La Michoacana Irmanaju’s ice cream options number too many to list, but the owner’s favorites include the mangonada, which combines sweet mango and tart lime juice with a spicy, savory kick — a classic example of Mexican-style ice cream.
It’s accompanied by more than 70 ice pop flavors; numerous savory, spicy and sweet “botanas” — Mexican snacks traditionally enjoyed while watching televised sports; dairy-free sorbets (made of fruit puree or juice); and nearly 30 traditional ice cream flavors.
The truck will serve events within
30 minutes of Galena, which customers can track via Facebook at tinyurl.com/Irmanaju.
The owners are actively pursuing a fully-equipped food truck to offer the store’s entire menu.
The cuisine isn’t the only thing about La Michoacana Irmanaju that stands out. Family values have built the store from scratch.
“My husband and I both grew up working with our families — harvesting coffee, pepper, corn and other crops from a young age,” co-owner Maria Ayala wrote in an email to the Telegraph Herald. “When we decided to start La Michoacana (after some time in the food industry), we knew we wanted to carry on that same tradition (of) working side-by-side with our children and teaching them how to build something together.”
Her husband and co-owner, Mario Garcia, helps her innovate and expand the store’s offerings with new homemade ice creams, snacks and pastries.
Their youngest daughter and their nephew help out in the kitchen, while their two oldest children — now adults — handle the behind-the-scenes necessities of small business. Three other relatives clean, run orders and wait tables.
“It is a family operation in every sense,” Ayala wrote. “Before we opened the business, my husband, my two oldest and I were all working separate jobs. We barely had time for each other. The business (opening in 2021) gave us a way to be together — talking, planning, growing and just spending good, quality time as a family. We don’t have to ‘make time’ as a family anymore. We are already living and working together everyday. And that means everything to us.”
Inquiries about the truck can be sent to lamichoacanairmanaju@gmail.com.