Buckhead business owner honors mother in 'sweetest' way possible

ATLANTA - With pink walls, pink phones, pink neon signs, and a big pink purse sculpture, it’s really no surprise what most customers are ordering inside Sugar Baby Creamery.

"Right now, the top seller is Strawberry Cheesecake," says owner Robreauna Ruiz.

But trust us — that one flavor is just the tip or the iceberg (or should we say tip of the ice cream?) inside the Buckhead sweet shop.

Ruiz opened the doors to Sugar Baby Creamery in November 2022, instantly gaining a fanbase thanks to her Instagram-worthy milkshakes and decadent rolled ice cream creations.

"I wanted it to look really, really pretty, and really, really different," says Ruiz. "I wanted it to just look like — when you got the ice cream — you’re just wowed by the actual ice cream. It’s not just a simple scoop."

And that name out front — "Sugar Baby" — is more than just a promise to customers. It’s also a tribute to Ruiz’s mother, named Candy, who died from gun violence when her daughter was just a year old.

"I feel like when you’re so young, and you lose a parent really young, you don’t really feel them because you didn’t really get to experience them or know them. But now that I’m older, I feel like her spirit is with me more and more," says Ruiz.

And Ruiz says she’s felt that spirit every step of the way in creating her business.

"I actually got my lease agreement with my landlord on my mom’s death anniversary date, which I thought was the most insane — kind of creepy — but it was such a big message," she says. "So, a day that was pretty much a sad day for me is now a big celebration because it’s pretty much the birth of Sugar Baby Creamery."

Today, Robreauna Ruiz says with every satisfied sweet tooth, she can feel her mother’s pride. It’s a constant motivation, she says, to make Sugar Baby the "creamery" of the crop.

"I feel like my mom is allowing me to be blessed in multiple different ways. She’s pushing these opportunities for me — even this opportunity — so, I definitely feel like she’s always with me."

Sugar Baby Creamery is located at 2625 Piedmont Road Northeast, Suite 52B, in Atlanta, and current hours are 2 p.m. to midnight daily. For more information on the business, click here.