Paleta Planeta held its grand opening on Saturday. The store is located at 150 E. Santa Clara St. and is only an eight minute walk from San José State.
Paletas are ice cream treats made from fruit purées that are dipped into water-glycol to make large quantities in a small amount of time, according to a May 21 KQED article.
Along with fresh fruit purées, Paleta Planeta also uses natural and organic ingredients whenever they have access, according to its webpage.
Brothers and owners Luis, Gabriel, and Mauricio Salazar were inspired by their cousins from Texas who helped them create their business after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the same article.
Paleteros are the people who push ice cream, or in this case, paletas in a cart going up and down the street through different neighborhoods, parks and schools. Paleteros can be heard coming down the street with a bell that is attached to their cart, according to a Jan. 6 Monterey County Now article.
“You allowed us to grow our business from the house which became Paleta Planeta warehouse and storage. Without their love and support, we wouldn't be standing here,” Luis said as he spoke to those in attendance at the grand opening.
Nate LeBlanc, business development manager for the San José Downtown Association, said he worked alongside the Salazar family to make this brick-and-mortar dream come true.
The San José Downtown Association works to represent the businesses in the downtown area, according to its web page.
“Like all of you, I am here to celebrate the opening of Paleta Planeta and I can tell you it was not an easy process to get here,” LeBlanc said. “There were a bunch of things we needed to do . . . There were many times this could have fallen off the rails, but they didn't let it (happen). They stuck with it and that is a huge accomplishment.”
LeBlanc said he is extremely proud of Paleta Planeta’s owners since this one has stood out to him in his career thus far as four separate referrals were sent to LeBlanc requesting the San José Downtown Association to help the Salazar family.
LeBlanc also praised the resourcefulness that the Salazar family had to make to take the next step.
“For Luis, Mauricio and Gabriel to have made it from a suburban garage to this beautiful storefront in such a short amount of time is a huge accomplishment,” LeBlanc said.
San José residents formed a line outside the front entrance and waited patiently for the opening ceremony to begin.
Local San José resident Benjamin Martinez was one of the many customers eagerly waiting.
“A couple of workers came by and said they appreciated us for coming on time and they gave us a couple of options between strawberry and watermelon,” Martinez said.
Martinez mentioned how he was excited about this new spot as he had not heard about it before he attended the opening. He described himself as a “big dessert guy” so this was something that caught his attention.
Jess dela Fuente, a resident from East San José, said he was already familiar with what Paleta Planeta had to offer.
“We tried them once when they were selling from their cart going down the street and it happened to park right in front of my girlfriend's apartment,” dela Fuente said.
One of the owners of Paleta Planeta, Luis Salazar, attributed the success of the business to his parents.
“Thank you to our mom and dad, thank you for having our backs,” Luis Salazar said. “You believed in us from the start, never expecting anything in return.”
To close the ceremony, the Salazar family gathered at the entrance of the store to cut the grand opening blue ribbon to officially open its doors to the public.
“This day is filled with excitement and gratitude in celebration . . . This is the moment that took us a while to get here, but with our determination and tenacity, and our ganas to get there, we did it,” Luis said using the Spanish word “ganas” for desire.
The mayor of San José Matt Mahan is working alongside the city and the San José Downtown Association to bring more business to downtown, according to an Aug. 9 press release from the city.
“This is an awesome local business. We are so honored to have you guys right here in Downtown,” Mahan said.
Paleta Planeta offers a wide variety of flavors with 20 paleta flavors and more than 10 ice cream flavors, according to the Paleta Planeta website.
“I got the double scoop (of) Cafe Oreo in a regular cup with dark chocolate drizzle on top, I give it a nine out of 10,” Martinez said. “I like the texture of the ice cream and I like the topping ratio on it (and) considering how busy it was, the staff was friendly.”
