New Business Serving Summertime Treats In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Those who've spent time south of the border — or in large urban areas — will be familiar with paletas, but a Fairfield business owner hopes his will be deemed a cut above the rest.

Dave’s Gourmet Paletas opened in May at 1492 Post Road, across from Sherman Green, and customers appear to be sweet on the unique product.

Paleta is a Spanish word meaning “little shovel,” and the popsicle-type creation is said to have originated in Mexico in the 1940s, where it remains popular.

In Fairfield, Dave’s Gourmet Paletas founder and local resident Dave Rock said he’s offering a product that’s made fresh each day, has no preservatives, and has been lovingly concocted by his creative resident chef, Christina Victoria.

“If you’re going to go out and have an ice cream treat, have a chef make it for you,” he said. “That seems to be the thing that sets our business apart.”

“I make them fresh daily,” said Victoria, who arrives at 6 a.m. to resupply the store with 20 flavors, including lavender honey, coconut, pistachio, rice pudding, peanut butter cup, cotton candy, and the most popular — strawberries 'n cream.

“We’ve been selling out flavors left and right,” she said.

All but the cookies and cream flavor are gluten-free, Victoria said, while the water-based fruit choices are also vegan.

“We try to make sure we have something for everybody,” she said.

Customers are greeted with a colorful array of the basic paletas. They then have the option of getting their paleta dipped in regular or white chocolate, drizzled with caramel, butterscotch or Nutella, and finished with one of a dozen topping choices, including nuts, M&M’s, sprinkles, pretzels or coconut.

“It’s an easy way to go in and out, and grab something sweet to taste,” Victoria said, noting certain toppings seem to work especially well with certain flavors.

Rock, a former internet executive and “serial entrepreneur” is so confident in his simple business model that he’s already started exploring other towns to open more shops within the next year.

“I think the biggest difference is I have a chef who makes everything by hand,” he said. “We’re not buying boxes of stuff and putting it in a machine and squeezing it out. We’ve got a chef.”

While he confessed it was nerve-wracking putting the business together during the pandemic, things are turning out well. Rock said that people are raving about the taste and the business has seen steady growth.

“Everybody wants to know where you got it from,” he said. “It almost self markets itself because the product is so cool and so different.”