About Paleteria El Paraiso
Ramon Romero started making paletas in 1979, out of a small retail space in Huntington Park, CA. He later named the business EL PARAISO, which translates to Paradise because he wanted his customers to feel like they were in ice cream heaven when they tasted his paletas. Ramon’s dream was to bring the tasty treats from his hometown of Jalpa, Zacatecas, Mexico to the people of Los Angeles. He started with just a few flavors and sold them for as little as .25 cents. As demand quickly grew, he later moved production to a larger warehouse space in East LA, located at 515 N Mednik Ave, which is still in operation today. Here my family and staff would make paletas day and night, package them, and sell them directly to consumers mainly by way of Paleteros, aka street vendors. During this time, there would be up to 100 paleteros pushing our paleta carts throughout the city, stocked with a variety of fruit flavors, such as Strawberry, Coconut, Tamarind, Lemon, and Watermelon. In 1982, as the business continued to grow rapidly, Ramon opened a second store in South Los Angeles, with plans for a retail storefront located in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood.
This is now our main headquarters/facility, where we manufacture and distribute all our products. Here you can purchase our famous paletas in wholesale amounts, as well as enjoy some of our handmade ice creams. Over the years, our menu has expanded to not only paletas, but also handmade ice cream, Raspados, Aguas Frescas, Esquites, and more. EL PARAISO is more than just an ice cream shop, we are an essential part of the community. For over 40 years, we have been providing an escape from reality, a sense of normalcy, especially during these challenging times. As Angelenos, we all share a connection to the places and people that inspires us. We are frequently told stories by our loyal customers when they remember coming here as kids and now as adults, bringing their own families for ice cream. It’s such a special feeling of nostalgia, which my family and staff are very proud of. We have been able to survive so many years because my family and staff take great pride in making our products the authentic way so that our customers can truly experience a piece of paradise, EL PARAISO.
