Walking into the happy brightness of The Taco & Ice Cream Joint at 2738 Cherokee Street should make the little kid in everyone clap hands in delight. First, the colors pop from the bright backlit panels on the serving line to the neon brightness of lime green, purple, red, and yellow chairs. The tabletops shimmer with a silvery rainbow pattern, reflecting the color all around. Photo graphics of ice cream specialties, paletas, tacos, and street corn flit across television screens hung above the serving line.

For Salvador Rico and his family – wife Lilia, son J. R., and daughter Karen -- the opening of a second business surely must be sweet. Salvador Rico, who owns a 4000-square-foot Mexican store, El Morelia Supermercado in Bridgeton, wanted to capitalize on the success of his weekends-only pop-up taco stand at the store.

× Expand Lilia, J.R., and Salvador Rico

"We've served tacos on Saturdays and Sundays at El Morelia for seven years now and it was time to expand,” his son J. R. Rico says. Salvador Rico settled on a storefront on Cherokee Street in need of a gut rehab and got to work. “It was the vibe, the environment, and the community that drew us to Cherokee Street,” J. R. says.

The renovations on Cherokee Street would take nearly a year. As the back-to-brick-walls transformation progressed, the family shuttled back and forth, minding the store in Bridgeton and working construction on Cherokee Street. As layers of past renovations were peeled from the building, Salvador Rico uncovered and preserved a few pieces of Cherokee Street history.

“When my father found the Machalek sign that hangs in the entry, he knew we would put it in the shop to honor the history of the neighborhood,” J. R. says. A search of city directories yielded a number of Machalek businesses on Cherokee Street, including an umbrella factory, a hair salon, and a men’s clothing store.

Histories, and family, are vitally important to the Ricos. “Our relatives still live in the state of Michoacán, the town of Morelia, which is the name of our store. I visit them often. My dad came from Morelia to this country when he was in his early twenties – my age.”

As the space progressed, the family put a little bit of Mexico in the decor and in the music at the store. “We will be playing Mexican music as well as my dad’s favorites – old-style New Orleans jazz,” he says.

The Ricos will bring some new tastes to the street, serving street tacos made with pork, beef, and chicken roasted at the Bridgeton store. They’ll have all the usual suspects plus a few ringers for the adventurous, like tender beef cheeks, beef tongue, and finely chopped and pan-grilled tripe tacos. For the timid or the little ones, seasoned ground beef tacos are also on the menu.

A toppings bar includes chopped cilantro, radishes, onions, pico de gallo, sliced jalapenos, and a righteous line up of hot sauces. Expect good sides, too, like street corn and beans – refried, pinto, and black.

The Ricos will also serve tortas, classic Mexican sandwiches, only at the Cherokee location. “We have a bakery at El Morelia, so we’ll be baking rolls in-house,” J. R. says.

Even the drinks get special attention at the Joint. Look for Salvador Rico’s homemade horchata, made with rice and spices, and agua frescas like pepino con limon, a bracing drink flavored with cucumber, mint, chia seeds, and lime.

Soft drinks include Jarritos, a popular Mexican soda available in a multitude of flavors including grapefruit, guava, tamarind, and hibiscus, as well as Mexican Coke made with cane sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup.

× Expand The paletas case and digital representations, at Taco & Ice Cream Joint

“We’ll also have a Caribbean champagne soda,” J.R. says. There’s no champagne in this light brown sweetened carbonated soda, which is popular in India and in Latin countries, and that has a flavor that falls somewhere between bubble gum and cream soda.

Of course, this story ends sweet with your choice of ice cream, paletas, shakes, banana splits, yogurt and fruit combinations, plus strawberries hand-dipped in the store’s chocolate fountain. The flavors of Mexican ice creams and paletas run the gamut from creamy, sweet avocado to the more piquant mango with chiles.

“My dad developed the recipes for the ice cream and paletas,” J. R. says. “He starts with milk, not a prepared base. He uses his own horchata in the horchata flavor. Strawberry starts with crushed berries. One of my favorites, Abuelita chocolate, starts with Mexican hot chocolate. Opening day, we are planning to offer a special flavor.”

The Ricos seem to instinctively understand hospitality and the importance of family, tradition, and transformation. The gathering place they've created, a mixture of old and new, is a cheery addition to a historic neighborhood that's steadily on the move.