Sisters Karmine Castaneda and Samantha Latorre were born in Louisville, but they spent part of their childhood living with their grandmother in Pachuca, the capital and largest city in the Mexican state of Hidalgo.
The sisters have fond memories of their grandmother making homemade desserts like fresas con creama (strawberries in a sweetened cream sauce) and pastel helado (a Mexican ice cream cake) for them. She also used to take them to purchase treats at one of the numerous candy shops found in malls and corner stores in Pachuca.
Now that they are adults, Castaneda and Latorre are trying to recreate some of those childhood memories right here in Louisville. The sisters opened their own candy shop, Kohmi’s Mexican Desserts, at 4134 Taylor Blvd. in the Hazelwood Shopping Center late last month.
“We come from a long line of cooks, so decided to open our own store to make some of the recipes our grandmother used to make for us,” Castaneda explained. “There are other [Mexican candy] stores in Louisville, but most of them are around the Preston [Highway] area. But we offer some things you won’t see at those stores because they are [treats] unique to Pachuca.”
Kohmi’s Mexican Desserts sells churros, ice cream, elotes, sorbet, agua fresca, crepes and other treats based on family recipes. Prices range from $2 to $7.
“Kohmi means ‘family’ in the local dialect where we come from in Mexico,” Latorre said. “This is really a family-run store. The only employee besides me and my sister is our brother Marco.”
Castaneda and Latorre invested about $50,000 to open their 900-square-foot store. The majority of the funds were used to renovate the space, which was previously occupied by the salon Nails First.
In keeping with the family theme, the renovations at Kohmi’s Mexican Desserts was handled by the owners’ parents, who happen to operate a construction business. The shopping mall is owned by Kute Family Properties LLC, according to the Jefferson County Public Valuation Administrator’s website.
Castaneda said she and her sister make many of the desserts they sell at the shop, but they also purchase Mexican candy from local vendors. So, far the churros and ice creams have been their biggest sellers.
Kohmi’s Mexican Desserts is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
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