CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Mangonada is a classic Mexican frozen dessert that Mongonadas by MLB in Corpus Christi has put a spin on by turning it into a sorbet with Chamoy (a typically spicy Mexican sauce).
Bianca Lopez, one of the owners of the family business, said it originated in Mexico as a frozen treat with a popsicle stick, but they’ve turned it into a sorbet-style dessert because they wanted to put a South Texas spin on it.
“I love giving my Mangonada and lighting up someone’s face. When they see it, it’s just a piece of art that has been given to someone,” Lopez said.
Yolanda Ibarra, who is both the mother of Lopez and also co-owner of the business, says it’s a bonding experience. It's a family-run business: the M standing for Mario, Bianca's husband, the L standing for Landa for Yolanda, and the B standing for Bianca.
Ibarra said they went to various places in Texas, like the Valley and San Antonio, to see what other mangonadas tasted like so they could perfect their own.
“We have our own recipe, so we do different things and you’re not going to find it at Walmart, H.E.B, you’re going to have come here in order to get it,” Ibarra said.
The business started out as a booth at festivals about eight years ago, but then they grew into a food truck. Now, they have a physical location kiosk by the waterfront in front of the American Bank Center.
However, the business did face some challenges last year because of the pandemic, seeing sales go down during the six months they closed down. Now, they said sales have gone up dramatically because of their new kiosk location, but the pandemic is still making it hard to find supplies like cups and napkins.
Jerry Torres was visiting Mangonadas by MLB Saturday from Houston, and said he and his wife stopped by on the way to see the Selena statue because it looked like a good environment.
“We’ve just seen everybody having a good time getting cooled off and we figured this must be the place,” he said.
Ibarra said catering to customers like Jerry is what her business is all about. She said she just wants to share a part of her Mexican heritage with Corpus Christi residents and visitors.
“Our whole goal is to be a part of Corpus Christi. We’ve lived here, we’ve gone to school here and we just want to say, people that come from out of town, out of state, hey we went to Corpus and we found this little spot here and they have these awesome Mangonadas,” Ibarra said.
The business will have their food truck at the food truck festival on Sunday at Water’s Edge Park.
