Típico Helado’s Cindy Estrada takes her family’s lessons to the REV stage
Cindy Estrada says she applied for REV Pitch 2026 because it scared her. Estrada, who runs the Típico Helado ice cream shop at 157 W. Broadway, is one of five finalists who will present their businesses Thursday, Nov. 5, at PACE’s Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center. More than $21,000 in prize money is at stake. Tickets are $15 and are available at tsbank.com/rev.
Típico Helado was founded in South Omaha by Jesus “Chuy” Mata and his wife, Crystal, and is known for Mexican-style ice cream, paletas and snacks. Estrada first went there as a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, after her father texted her that she had to try it. The owner’s brother was working that day and asked for her number. “So thanks, Dad,” Estrada said. The two began dating, and she later went to work at the shop.
When the COVID-19 pandemic stretched the line outside the Omaha shop more than a block long, Estrada had an idea. She and her partner would take the ice cream to customers themselves. He made batches after work, and they sold them from her car across the metro area, including in Council Bluffs, which became one of their best markets. They then bought the oldest push cart from his brother’s business and sold ice cream at both ends of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, often in a borrowed or rented truck. One cart became three. The family later gave them the chance to run a Típico Helado trailer, which they kept at Kelly’s Carpet on Gaines Street for about three years before moving into the Broadway storefront.
Estrada said the move has brought new customers, many of whom saw the trailer but did not know what was sold there. It has also been a challenge. She said more than half of the trailer’s regular customers, many of them construction workers who used the carpet store’s large parking lot, have not yet followed the business downtown. The shop has added free events for families and children while it looks for ways to bring those customers back.
Estrada credits her parents for her drive. Her father runs a gutter business, rents out homes and lays fiber-optic cable, and her mother handles the paperwork and permits. She said they taught her and her siblings that one income is rarely enough and that an opportunity may not come twice. They also pushed their children to do the things that scared them. “So what if you fail?” Estrada said they would ask. She said she had never applied for a loan or a grant and had never given a pitch, and when the email came saying she was a finalist, she scrolled to the bottom to make sure it was not a scam.
Estrada said seeing other Latina business owners in past REV competitions encouraged her to apply. She named Alejandra of Viva Fit Kitchen and the owner of Café Ali in Ralston. She also credited the owner of Kelly’s Carpet, whom she called “Miss Lori,” for paying to put in the electrical outlet the trailer needed. After practicing her pitch until she started second-guessing it, she said, she has put it away and plans to simply do her best.
