'La Newyorkina' set to offer Mexican treats like paletas at new Greenwich Village shop

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The flavors of Mexico can be experienced in paletas sold on The Highline and in Astor Place, and now "La Newyorkina" is set to open a shop in Greenwich Village.

"I started with five flavors that were very Mexican and I was really surprised when people really loved them," said Fany Gerson, of "La Newyorkina".

Gerson loved paletas growing up in Mexico City, lush ice pops with fresh fruit chunks and exotic flavors like hibiscus or mango chili. They are far more interesting that your traditional American popsicle.

"What I remember is going to the paleta shop with my sister, and you used to look into this freezer and I remember the day I was tall enough that I could peek in on my own," Gerson said.

Now she's offering the same experience in New York.

She has a handful of carts, including one on The Highline and a kiosk at Astor Place selling Paletas.

"The flavors are so fresh, always perfectly balanced," a customer said.

Gerson calls her business "La Newyorkina", which means, the girl from New York, where she's called home since the late 1990s.

"I am as much a New Yorker as I am Mexican. I think 'La Newyorkina' encompasses exactly that," Gerson said.

She employs 30 part and full time employees. Her production facility is in Red Hook.

She also has two cookbooks. It's pretty incredible when you consider she started this on whim.

"It's not like I had a business plan and prospective sales or endless funds," Gerson said.

She's had setbacks. Superstorm Sandy destroyed her equipment, but she's since been able to recoup and grow.

At the production facility, if you ring the buzzer between 1-5 p.m., they will sell you a treat.

There are plenty of regulars.

She's weeks away from opening a proper shop in the Greenwich Village where she'll sell those paletas, ice cream, chamoyagas, and other Mexican sweets.

"It's become a mission, sharing the sweetness of Mexico," Gerson said. "I get to make people happy for a living and that's really amazing."