Probation officer turned restaurateur about to open his first Wichita business
A new ice cream shop is set to open on Sunday in the former My Tho Vietnamese restaurant space at 500 E. Central, and those who used to frequent the former tenant might not recognize the place.
Owner Armando De La Pena spent a month and a half transforming it into a new business called Paleteria Chihuahua. He constructed and installed a long ice cream counter, posted a colorful chalkboard menu, and even added a fun selfie spot in the back.
Starting on Sunday, customers will be able to see the transformation for themselves and also will be able to sample De La Pena’s ice cream creations.
His menu includes more than two dozen different flavors, including Oreo, salted caramel, strawberry, coffee, Snickers, cheesecake, eggnog and bubble gum. De La Pena’s favorite is the toffee ice cream, he said.
Customers will be able to get their ice cream in sugar cones, waffle cones or cups.
De La Pena is also making and selling his own paletas, which are Mexican ice cream bars, and he’ll offer flavors like mango, watermelon, strawberries and cream and coconut.
The menu also includes a selection of aqua frescas in flavors like horchata, strawberry, coconut, cantaloupe and cucumber.
Customers also will be able to order Mexican snacks like fried potatoes, nachos made with Doritos, and Mexican corn with Parmesan cheese.
Starting on Sunday, the hours for the shop will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. It has seating inside for about 64 people.
De La Pena grew up in Johnson City, a small town in western Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University in 2010 and got a job as a probation officer.
But that job wasn’t paying enough, so he started working with a friend in his Mexican ice cream store.
Eventually, the friend suggested that De La Pena open his own paleteria, and he decided to go for it. He opened a shop in Ulysses 13 years ago, and it’s still operating. He also opened a still-operating bar in Ulysses.
But De La Pena decided he wanted to move to Wichita to be closer to family. Initially, he planned to take over a different Wichita building and open a bar, but his loan wasn’t approved in time, and he lost the building.
Then, he saw the My Tho space, which he thought would be perfect for an ice cream shop.
De La Pena says he makes all the ice cream himself.
“I do it the way it’s supposed to be done,” he said. “I don’t water it down.”
His goal is to buy a building somewhere in Wichita and possibly open a second paleteria.
My Tho, which initially operated as a pool hall, was one of Wichita’s go-to Vietnamese restaurants and operated in the space at Central and Emporia from 1995 until it closed in 2020.
Though the owners said many times that the restaurant would eventually reopen, Lange Real Estate listed the building for lease in 2023. Lange agents Darin Weidenheimer and Jeff Lowrance served as leasing agents on the deal.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM.
.jpg)