Lincoln family fulfills dream with Haymarket ice cream shop (2024)

Cinthya Espinosa has been working in the restaurant business for quite some time, and it had always been her dream to open her own restaurant.

That dream came true in February when Espinosa and her husband, Isrrael, opened The Waffle Cone with their three kids. The ice cream shop, located at 311 N. Eighth St., is open daily from noon to 10 p.m.

“It felt like a dream to start our own business,” Cinthya said. “It was a very good opportunity, so we didn’t let it go.”

The purchase went through in December after the previous owner, Mike Bretta, decided to sell his three Scoops ice cream shops due to health issues. The Scoops at 830 N. 70th St. was purchased and renamed to Lincoln Ice Cream Company, while the 70th and Van Dorn streets location has retained the name Scoops under new management.

The Waffle Cone is the third ice cream shop to open at the Haymarket location in the past couple of years following Scoops and 402 Creamery.

Although Cinthya Espinosa said it was risky to open an ice cream shop in the middle of winter, there wasn’t much she and her family had to do to prepare the space.

“I knew that we were not going to have a lot of customers at the time, but it was a nice experience because now we know how it’s going to be in the cold weather,” she said.

All they needed were permits and a new name. The Espinosas came up with a handful of different name possibilities for their new-found business, and there was a unanimous vote for The Waffle Cone.

Except for a few signs, nothing else has really changed at the Haymarket shop. It’s still the same cozy ice cream shop with bright colors and delicious ice cream. Cinthya said they are still serving the same Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream that Scoops served and have 24 flavors available at a time.

The Waffle Cone also sells hand-scooped shakes and malts, root beer floats, banana splits, ice cream flights and Topper Popper popcorn. They’re also continuing to sell pineapple Dole Whip, but Cinthya has added her own twist to provide more flavors such as lime, strawberry, mango and watermelon.

“We have the popular Dole Whip with pineapple, but we add a flavor in addition to that and we change it weekly,” she said. “It’s nice because it’s non-dairy, gluten-free and vegan.”

Since The Waffle Cone is only six months into business, Cinthya said she's waiting until next year to come up with new mixtures. However, she has added ice cream nachos to the menu, which have quickly become a customer favorite.

“It’s like regular nachos,” Cinthya said. “In this one, the toppings are the sweets and we have the waffle chips. It’s kind of fun.”

For $8.50, customers can choose three scoops of ice cream and three toppings to enjoy with waffle cone chips.

The whole Espinosa family helps out at The Waffle Cone, including 21-year-old Michelle Espinosa, and her two younger siblings.

“I love working with them and helping them,” Michelle said. “Opening the shop was really challenging at first, but now we found the rhythm to it.”

Michelle’s siblings, who are 13 and 15 years old, get to experience firsthand what it’s like to run a business, although Cinthya said they mostly get to see the fun parts, such as taste-testing ice cream and helping to generate new ideas.

It’s a convenient job for Michelle, who attends the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in computer science.

She can’t help but encourage students to visit her parents' shop as well. Michelle was even responsible for creating the student discount, which allows students to receive 20% off on Wednesdays by showing their IDs.

Most of all, Michelle loves seeing her parents succeed as they complete their goals and tackle challenges.

“They’ve always wanted to own a business, and watching them finally have that dream come true, I’m really proud of them,” she said.