A family of long-time Tempe residents and ASU alumni opened a new ice cream and cupcake shop on Mill Avenue and 10th Street in early March.
Flavor, owned and operated by ASU alumni Alicia Quihuis and her father Albert, is just one of the contributions the family has made to the Tempe business community.
“The history is really cool,” Alicia said. “It’s a part that we like sharing with people that come in.”
Albert said his father, Albert Quihuis Sr., attended ASU in the 1950s but was a few credits shy of graduating. Albert Jr.’s sister, who works for ASU, discovered a program that allowed his father to add community service to the number of hours he needed to graduate.
“In 2005, he got his college degree,” Albert said. “He was 85 and he walked. I would see Dr. Crow occasionally at meetings and he would always say, ‘Has your dad found a job yet?’”
Albert said his father built the building in the 1960s to serve as a personal office space and later decided to expand and lease the building to other businesses.
“When I was a kid, we grew up right on Roosevelt Street,” Albert said. “When this space became available, my father built the small building … Later on, some ASU faculty ended up renting this space.”
Albert Sr. left the building to his five children after he died in January 2010, and the family continues to own and operate the property. Alicia opened Flavor in a small part of the building, the rest of which they continue to rent to other tenants.
Since Flavor’s opening, Alicia said she has enjoyed getting to know many long-time Tempe residents, as well as the student population.
“They come in and you’re making connections with people that still live here and are the same age as my grandfather,” she said.
Alicia said her main focus is to get the word out about Flavor’s 16 different varieties of Bluebell ice cream, which costs $1.50 for the first scoop and $1 for each additional scoop. She is also working to promote their uniquely flavored selection of cookies and cupcakes, priced at $1.50 and $2.75 each.
Patrons also receive a free scoop of ice cream on their birthday.
“The ice cream is taking off pretty well,” she said. “The cupcakes and cookies, we’re trying to get going a little bit more, but coffee is the next step, and we hope that once that gets going, that the cupcakes and cookies will start rolling as well.”
Both Alicia and Albert said they also chose the location because of its proximity to the Tempe campus and surrounding businesses.
The Subway next to Flavor had been a Dairy Queen for 50 years.
“The whole neighborhood always used to have an ice cream place nearby,” Albert said. “I knew just based off of that, it would be a success.”
Alicia’s brother Andre Quihuis, a chemical engineering sophomore, often volunteers at the shop after classes. He said he has been proud to see his sister’s shop grow from an idea to a reality.
“I’m really proud of it,” Andre said. “It’s exciting to see it develop. I’m always there to support her. It’s a blast.”
Reach the reporter at kmmandev@asu.edu
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