Takeout Tuesday: Crystal’s La Michoacana Rose
The nearest city in Mexico is roughly 1,400 miles away from the Twin Cities.
But thanks to Elizabeth Raygoza, she’s brought the flavor of Mexico to Crystal in the form of an ice cream shop called La Michoacana Rose.
“I grew up going to a small little one in my town,” Raygoza said. “We have snacks, we have ice pops, we have ice cream, and the most amazing thing is we actually make everything here in store.”
Raygoza is a Cooper High School graduate and owner of, La Michoacana Rose. The new ice cream shop opened Nov. 1 in a strip mall along Bass Lake Road.
“I did grow up coming to this same strip mall as a child, so a lot of my memories are here,” Raygoza said. “And my biggest thing growing up was me going to that ice cream shop [in Mexico] when I was little, with my parents. So I wanted to make the same experience for the kids here.”
Speaking of kids, she named the shop after her two year old daughter, Rose.
The avocado-flavored popsicle sold at La Michoacana Rose in Crystal.
“She already comes in here and she knows it’s her on the logo,” Raygoza said of her daughter. “She knows what she wants when she comes in. She’s choosing her ice cream. It’s just such a great feeling.”
The shop serves more than 50 flavors of ice cream and popsicles. While customers can certainly buy items they’re more accustomed to, they have things on their menu that you’re definitely not going to find at Dairy Queen or Baskin-Robbins.
Take, for instance, mangonadas. It’s a combination of chopped mangoes, mango sorbet, tajín (a chile-lime salt) and chamoy (a condiment made from fermented fruit, salt, sugar and chiles). It’s the best seller at La Michoacana Rose.
“It’s really just thinking outside the box,” Raygoza said. “You know, it’s sweet. You really can’t go wrong. I just encourage everyone, just try something new. It’s nothing crazy.”
the shop’s opening was delayed a few months due to COVID-19, but the warmer weather at the start of November — combined with its close proximity to Crystal’s new and improved Becker Park — got the business started off on the right foot.
“I just want to keep serving my community here,” Raygoza said. “I’ve already gotten great support. So I just want to continue to do that for them.”
So whether you’re a native of Mexico, or of Minnesota, La Michoacana Rose has a little something for everyone.
“I just want them to feel a little bit closer to home when they come in here,” she said.
Every week Delane Cleveland explores the Northwest Suburbs for the segment Takeout Tuesday.
