Over a decade ago, former Westword food editor Mark Antonation began his food-writing career by eating his way up Federal Boulevard. Now, we’re turning our attention to another vibrant culinary corridor.
The four-plus-mile stretch of Havana Street between Dartmouth and Sixth Avenue in Aurora is home to the most diverse array of international cuisine available in the metro area. From restaurants and markets to take-and-go shops and stands, food lovers of nearly any ethnicity or interest can find a place that will remind them of home or open new culinary doors. In Eat Up Havana, Antony Bruno will visit them all, one by one, week by week.
Previous stops:
- Old Town Hot Pot
- Leezakaya
- Chutney Indian Cuisine
- El Tequileno
- Milkroll
- Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ
- Watan Restaurant & Bakery
- Las Fajitas
- Mr. Tang
- Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings
- Yemen Grill
- Tofu House
- Sushi Katsu Next up: Coco Loco
For a small shop tucked away behind a Dollar Store on Aurora’s South Havana Street, Coco Loco manages to pack in a whole lot of flavors.
While billed primarily as a smoothie and juice bar, a quick stop inside reveals the fact that there’s far more happening here than may initially meet the eye. It just takes a minute to soak it all in.
Between the smoothies, juices, bowls, wraps, and ice creams, there are many menus with many more names and options to browse through, all plastered on large posters above the counter in a very small space. So it’s… a lot. Just take a breath, focus, and ask a lot of questions. There’s really no wrong answer here.
Smoothies & Juices
Proprietors Jose and Celeste Ramirez launched Coco Loco in 2018 out of a desire to bring a healthier option to the Havana corridor.
“There were really no juice shops in this area,” he said. “I didn’t like going to places where everything was all syrups and powder. We wanted real fruit. We wanted it to be non-dairy. We wanted everything to be fresh and to incorporate fruits and things that we grew up on. And that’s what we did.”
With no culinary background (Ramirez previously ran a game shop and a line of marijuana dispensaries) he turned to his friend Enrique Socarras of the local Cuba Cuba chain to develop the menu and train him and the staff.
The result includes options you’re not likely to see in nationwide chains, such as those made with sweet potato, beets, dragonfruit, and papaya, all of which are incorporated into both smoothies and juices. Among the popular favorites is the Peanut Butter Thunder smoothie made with bananas, peanut butter, cacao nips with coconut milk; and the Coquito Loco, with pineapple, coconut flakes and condensed milk.
While smoothies like these represent about 70% of the store’s business, it’s worth exploring the margins a bit for some interesting discoveries.
Sugarcane Juice
Every month, Ramirez’ sister drives back from Texas with a delivery of sugar cane, which Coco Loco presses into sugar cane juice on site, served straight.
“We run it through the press and people can drink fresh squeezed sugarcane juice, which has a lot of benefits. It’s not processed sugar, so even diabetics can drink it. It helps with energy, UTIs, good for your skin, it’s good for bad breath.”
It’s also used as an optional sweetener in all the smoothies and juices, along with other options like honey or agave nectar.
Boozy Ice Cream
This past March, Coco Loco joined forces with Brian Fashaw of Brian’s Gourmet Ice Cream to sell his ice creams and sorbets by the scoop in store. Fashaw says he’s been making ice cream since he was four, and has operated the gourmet ice cream business for 16 years, primarily through distribution deals with local stores.
His ice cream is made without corn syrup or eggs, and it is made in-house. But what Brian’s Gourmet Ice Cream is really known for is the Liq-Creme line of alcohol-infused ice creams and sorbet, such as flavored vodkas, whiskeys and bourbon.
These can’t be sold by the scoop, but instead in packages by the pint. While they only contain 6.5% alcohol, it’s enough to keep the ice cream soft (alcohol impedes the freezing process), so be sure to get them home and into the freezer straight away.
The Rest
Coco Loco also offers hot food like wraps (both hot pressed and cold), waffles, salads, bowls, bagels, and more. But watching Ramirez at work double-fisting the blenders to whip up healthy-sized cups of blended goodness is worth the trip.
On the surface, it seems ironic for a shop selling fruit smoothies, sugarcane juice, and boozy ice cream to call itself a healthy option. But at Coco Loco, they all have one thing in common: natural ingredients.
Sweets and fats aren’t necessarily bad if they’re made from natural ingredients rather than ultra processed methods. That, combined with the highly personal sense of craft that both Ramirez and Fashaw bring to their products, helps Coco Loco stand apart in a sea of high fructose corn syrup and mass-produced shortcuts.
Everything in moderation, of course.
“My family is from Cuba and Peru, and so we’re trying to bring some of that tradition here,” Ramirez says. “Our focus is really just to try to bring a healthy option, our traditions, and our culture here, with a little American twist.”
Coco Loco is located at 2353 S Havana St D-14 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. For more information visit cocolococolorado.com
