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[title]Every April 12th, the International Ice Cream Day is celebrated, and in Mendoza, there is a family that has been honoring this dessert for over a hundred years: the Soppelsas. It all began with Güerino, a pioneer in artisanal ice cream making, who left the craft as a legacy for future generations; he passed down the passion for creating flavors that touch the heart.
Today, that story continues with Flavio, the fourth generation of the Soppelsa family, who not only preserves the foundations of his great-grandfather's ice cream but also bets on innovative flavors that turn ‘having ice cream’ into a full sensory experience.
We spoke with him to delve deeper into this living story, to ask about his flavor laboratory with ingredients that break the mold, and about his gift of creating true works of art in every ice cream cone he hands to his customers.
Additionally, this story invites all those who visit Mendoza to discover a universe of artisanal ice creams with a visual quality as carefully crafted as their flavor.
The Story of Soppelsa Ice Creams
In the Italian town of Forno di Zoldo (now Val di Zoldo), Güerino lived with his wife and four children; the place was known as "the valley of ice cream makers" and, in fact, he worked for an ice cream maker. Over time, he emigrated to America to bring his craft to other corners of the world.
“At 18, I was able to visit the town and see the family home; my desire is to return to the roots,” confesses Flavio, the great-grandson of the man who came to Mendoza seeking new opportunities.
Don Güerino arrived with his son Ernesto and began making ice cream in a primitive way, using ice and salt to cool the creams. “They made it very rudimentarily, one or two flavors, placed it in a small barrel, and went to Cerro de la Gloria to sell the day’s production. Little by little, they evolved,” he recalls.
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The rest of the family arrived over time, and just over 50 years later, Don Güerino passed away, leaving his legacy to his three sons: Ernesto, Ítalo, and Luis—Ferrucho. “The three musketeers continued the activity but naturally divided, with each one opening their own ice cream shop. My grandfather Ernesto opened his first shop at the intersection of Av. España and Av. Las Heras, in the heart of Mendoza city, which my father Dante and my mother Natalia later ran until 2024.”
The passion for work, commitment to customers, and love for the art of making artisanal ice cream led Natalia to open a new shop in the late 80s on Lavalle Street. She named it Dante Soppelsa in honor of her husband, and it was there that Flavio discovered the craft and found his vocation.
Flavio Soppelsa, the new chapter of the story
“My father started working at the ice cream shop when he was 12; he was always very traditional and classic, worked a lot. It wasn’t until the new shop opened that we incorporated something different,” he explains.
It wasn’t until he graduated as a Business Administrator that Flavio began working in the ice cream shop. “I remember my mother asked me to help out for a month, and here I am still,” he says with a laugh, adding, “I never tried to leave because I enjoyed it; I was able to apply the theoretical knowledge I had studied, and also, I’m an ice cream maker.”
He is very passionate about chemistry, reads a lot on the subject, and discovered opportunities to produce ice cream with a more innovative character. “That’s how the idea of offering traditional ice cream, which is excellent, but with a little innovation to make it extraordinary, was born,” says Flavio.
“I’m quite structured, so I’ve always worked by categories when creating new flavors. It hasn’t happened overnight; we’ve worked a lot, and customer feedback guides the way,” he says, now at the helm of the shop on Lavalle Street, which was recently renamed Flavio Soppelsa.
Ice Cream Flavors That Break the Mold
When you enter the shop, a colorful mural and its reflection in a large mirror catch the eye. This wall, intervened by the great Mendoza artist Luis Quesada in 1985, brings life to the room and serves as the backdrop for the photos customers take with the ice cream in their hands.
Almost unconsciously, the gaze moves towards the menu with available flavors, and here comes the surprise: Malbec wine ice cream, turmeric, spirulina, avocado, matcha tea, carob, olive oil, Chardonnay grape, and many more. Every flavor has a purpose, every combination is thought out, and it contains a unique touch: “The challenge is to offer something different, for people to try it and come back for more; if that happens, it’s a satisfaction because it means they liked it.”
“The challenge is to offer something different, for people to try it and come back for more”
What makes these ice creams special is the alchemy between the classic and the new. Base recipes, such as a white cream, chocolate, or dulce de leche base, are inherited from Don Güerino. With that as the foundation, Flavio builds new flavors that respect the artisanal nature and add a fresh, conscious approach.
At Flavio Soppelsa, “every flavor is developed with hours of reading about chemistry, with trial and error in the lab,” says the ice cream maker, who reads a lot about chemistry, and adds, “Many times, what works in theory doesn’t work on the palate. My mother tastes it first, and she gives a thumbs up or down, and then we reach the flavor with details that our customers contribute.”
Flavio is passionate, and it shows in every scoop he serves. He asks every person if they prefer something creamier or fresher, and from there, he suggests combinations because he’s convinced that “there’s a flavor for every moment, depending on the mood, the weather, what you need that day.”
Customer service is also part of the experience. Flavio and his mother are at the front of the service and the cash register every day. “We open from 3 PM to 11 PM, an unconventional ice cream shop schedule, which allows me to be in production in the morning and in the afternoon with the customers. We make small batches to always serve quality, and during the day, we serve what was made that day and even prepare more of a flavor if it’s finished.”
Art in Every Ice Cream
At Flavio Soppelsa, ice cream is not just a dessert but also a form of expression. Each cone, each cup, each flavor combination becomes a unique piece, handmade with almost surgical precision.
Metal spoons of different sizes, and even forks and tweezers, are the tools used to sculpt textures, shapes, and volumes that elevate the experience of eating artisanal ice cream. No two presentations are the same; every ice cream is ephemeral, unrepeatable, a work of art designed to be enjoyed before it melts.
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The decoration wasn’t initially planned; Flavio recalls that one time, he was serving an ice cream, and while arranging it, he used a spoon, came up with the idea of making a line, and noticed it didn’t look bad. “I kept making lines… People started admiring what I was doing, and what began as something simple was refined. Now we have the technique to make rounder swirls. We created a shape resembling a rose, and today, that’s our signature, our logo,” says Flavio.
“We created a shape resembling a rose, and today, that’s our signature, our logo”
Aesthetics matter, and every ice cream is a blank canvas that begins to fill with details meant to excite, express the love with which the ice creams are made, and transmit the passion they feel for this family craft. “The ice cream shop became a business that went from offering a high-quality product to a product that is also distinguished by its high visual quality.”
Thus, Flavio Soppelsa presents itself to everyone as an ice cream shop with history; a legacy that spans generations, a laboratory that combines technique, emotion, and unexpected flavors. A place where tradition is respected as much as it is challenged. And where ice cream not only refreshes but also tells a story in every spoonful.
Where: Lavalle 24, Mendoza.