Too hot? Warner Robins roadside stands offer a refreshing Latin American drink

During the hot and humid summer days of Georgia, a new business has emerged in Warner Robins that offers a popular Latin American drink that’s cool and refreshing, available at roadside stands.

“I’ve been doing this all my life,” said Aguas Frescas Los Cholos owner Jesus Villalon, who had similar stands in Mexico and then Florida before moving to Houston County.

Agua fresca, Spanish for “fresh water,” is an all-natural fruit drink made by blending pulp with water and sugar and then serving over ice.

Villalon, with the help of Diana Ortiz and her sons Nathan, 15, and Juan, 18, operate two stands offering agua frescas in multiple flavors.

They generally set up one stand in the parking lot of the Ravina Food Mart and Valero gas station at the corner of Moody and Sandy Run roads, and the other in the grass of the parking lot at the Joy Food Mart and gas station at N. Houston Lake and Dunbar roads.

Villalon’s business partner, Juan Diago, also has a stand under the same name at N. Houston Road and Green Street near a Walmart Neighborhood Market. Diago operates the stand with the help of Esmeralda Lopez.

“It’s been good,” Lopez said when asked how the business was doing. “It’s been steady.”

Diago suggested trying a free sample of the strawberry kiwi agua fresca. He was asked how it was made.

“With fruits like strawberry and kiwi, with lots of love,” he said.

Made fresh daily

At home early in the morning before setting up the stands, the team blends seasonal fruits to make multiple batches of agua frescas in 5-gallon coolers that they’ll distribute among the stands.

Once on site, they stretch tarps over wood posts and anchor the stands with ropes staked in the ground. The coolers are set up side by side on a long folding table with a banner across the front that says, “Aguas Frescas Y Frutas” in Spanish with “Fresh Fruits & Fruit Drinks” in English below.

At the stand at N. Houston Lake and Dunbar roads, agua frescas offered on that day included cucumber with lime, strawberry kiwi, dragon fruit, strawberry with pineapple, watermelon, pineapple, strawberry watermelon, mango, coconut and horchata.

Their coconut and horchata agua frescas are made with milk. Seeds, grains and flowers also can be used to make agua frescas. Theirs are mostly fruit based.

The stand also had tepache, which they make with fermented pineapple.

Having trouble choosing a flavor? Ask for a sample.

Once a customer opts for one, the agua fresca is poured over crushed ice into a 32-ounce plastic cup. Ambitious customers can choose up to three flavors such as pineapple, strawberry and kiwi to create their own agua fresca blend.

The drinks sell for $8 each.

On a recent day at the stand at Moody and Sandy Run roads, Villalon also had some fresh pineapple — which he’ll slice up on the spot and sell in chunks that fill a 32-ounce cup, also for $8.

Owner takes pride in his business

Villalon is passionate about Aguas Frescas Los Cholos. He searches for the freshest fruits and won’t set up the stands if he cannot find what he needs. Rain also shuts them down.

The team has started to post on Facebook when they expect to set up in their usual locations, Diana Ortiz said.

Villalon, a showman, likes to pour the agua fresca from on high into a cup. He’ll also slice up a pineapple with a long knife in front of customers.

Currently, he’s operating under temporary permits from the state health department that must be renewed frequently, Ortiz said.

They’re exploring how they might set up more economically, possibly in a permanent location as well as hoping to expand with a food truck in which they might offer Mexican snacks in addition to agua frescas, Ortiz said.

For now, they’re operating the stands in their usual locations while they seek guidance on next steps.

A repeat customer

On a recent visit to the stand at N. Houston Lake and Dunbar roads, Dorey Hawkins enjoyed the horchata coconut agua fresca so much that she’d returned with a friend.

That flavor wasn’t immediately available on her second visit. But Nathan Ortiz quickly created it on site by mixing the separate coconut and horchata flavors that were on hand.

Hawkins handed a small sample cup to her friend, D Havin, to try.

“That’s good — oh my goodness,” Havin said.

Tip: Bring cash and check the business Facebook page before heading out. Payment through Cash App and the Zelle app is also accepted. They expect to add the TAP app soon.