Business of the Month – Sugar Mex

Sugar, spice, and everything nice greet customers when they walk into Sugar Mex of Tucker. Maria Salazar, the owner of Sugar Mex, takes pride in serving customers bursts of flavors of Mexican desserts and snacks.

“Serving the customers and hearing their opinions of my flavors makes me feel proud,” Salazar said.

Salazar was born and raised in Mexico. She made her way to the states and worked in the restaurant industry for over 13 years. During her time there, she developed her skills and learned a lot in the restaurant field. After some time, she decided she wanted to start up her own ice cream store and share flavors from foods from back home. In October 2021 she turned her dream to a reality. She has been satisfying customers’ taste buds ever since.

“It was not easy at first,” Salazar said. “My dream was to start my own business, and after working over 13 years at local restaurants that allowed me to make connections with people in the area, my dream has become reality.”

Salazar feels like Tucker is a friendly, peaceful community and a well-liked area. She thinks Sugar Mex’s location is an excellent, and she is happy to be in the community of Tucker. Salazar is thankful for the people in the community of Tucker too. She enjoys the warmth and the small town feeling that she gets working here.

“The customers are really friendly and support small businesses like my own,” Salazar said. “I am very thankful to Tucker for introducing me to new people. I am also grateful to all the community that has supported me since my opening and given me excellent ratings.”

Salazar is a proud Latina woman. She is proud of where she is today. She is proud that she can be an example to her daughter and her grandchildren and show them they can make their dreams come true. She is glad to be a role model to young girls who aspire to be business owners and show them that they can accomplish their dreams.

“I am very proud to be Latina,” Salazar said. “Even though English is not my native language, I feel like my hard work helps me to overcome any obstacles. I feel happy to be able to demonstrate to young girls that it is possible to achieve your objectives and to be able to tell each one ‘sí, se puede’ or ‘yes, you can.’”

The interview for this story was translated by Felix Figueroa.