Meet Joe Lopez | Maker of The World’s Best Flan

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Well, I honestly never thought of owning my own flan or dessert business, It truly never crossed my mind. I came from the high performance automotive world but I can remember three specific moments that really made this happen.

One, as I stated before I came from the automotive world. My business partners wife owned a doctors office and medical building with many other medical business’. Every year she had a Christmas party and requested that I would make a few flans for her which I did using my mothers amazing recipe. She loved my flans because I had made some for her once before. Well, the day after this party I must have received 10 calls and text messages telling me how amazing my flan was and they all wanted to know where they could buy some. This definitely caught me off guard and really got me thinking. Then, I remembered the only job I ever had in the food industry was at a local fast food chain and I hated it. I was fired within a month for getting pissed off at the manager and kicking over a 55gal drum of used cooking oil, not a great moment for me as you could imagine.

Second, I was living in historic Ybor City Florida where they held a yearly flan event named Flan Fest. I was asked by a family friend to enter, so I thought what the heck and I did. That day my girlfriend at the time, now wife Nicole thought of combining guava and keylime together as a topping for our entry. Man, what a great idea that was. We caught the attention of every single judge and we were the crowd favorite. The response from the people was amazing and the look in their eyes as they tasted our flan was motivating yet sometimes hilarious. I must of given about 20 women that day a foodgasm.

Finally the third and the most special, my mothers blessing. The automotive/racing industry can be very lucrative but 2008 was an awful year for the financial sector. The marketing money being spent on the race cars we built came to a hard crash and we didn’t know what to do. Like a lot of business we had bills to pay but not enough money coming in. That Christmas, Christmas of 2014 my mother Norma came over already knowing what was going on and knew of our hardships. She gave me a card that I still have and cherish today. She wrote a long tear jerking positive paragraph which ended with: Take a chance, you never know what can happen. With all of the emotion and all of the heartache and everything in between I started to cry, sob actually, pretty uncontrollably. It was really hard to keep it together. If you knew my mom, you’d know how special that would really be to me. My mom was a positive person but always a better safe than sorry one. She was a great positive person but not one to take chances.

So, this and the fact that every time I would order flan at a restaurant it would suck was the very reason why I started Niaddi Flan.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We use the finest ingredients and take real pride in what we do. We provide a level of customer service that is second to none. We make custom one off crazy flavors that set the stage that others follow. We are named the Best Flan in Tampa, Orlando & Miami by the mayors of each city. We are also name The World’s Best Flan by members of the Gold Toque ( Top 100 Chefs in The World ). It was not easy, it is currently not easy. This is truly the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life but the most emotionally rewarding at the same time. The amount of hard times and seemingly impossible hurdles have become the norm. Having a faith based approach or as much as possible has been very helpful but trust me, I’m far from perfect.  Having family and friends I can rely on is a must. The taste of a good beer or a fine glass of whiskey or rum at the end of them super rough days helps too. I want the world to know a couple things. I’m an ordinary man with the extraordinary ability to make a flan so good it will always be the flan by which all others are judged. Also, the name NIADDI® is truly special to me. It is an acronym made up using the names of my wife (NI)Nicole, my oldest son (AD)Adrian, my middle son (DI)Diego and my youngest son (®)Richard, a.k.a. Ricky. My hope is that our hard work and our legacy will continue long after I’m gone. I wish that my children will continue to run this business together and grow it to become a multigenerational company so that their grandchildren and theirs continue the traditions we set in place.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh wow, well I love good food and love the outdoors. I would defiantly take a trip to El Puerto for dinner, They have the most amazing plate of meat (parillada) you may ever consume, next to the steak from Berns which is also amazing. We would have to stop at Brocato’s for some of Michaels amazing but not traditional devil crabs but who cares, they are awesome! For beer, definitely Zephyrhills Brewing Company, Dade City Brewery is a must. The brewer Ryan Freeman and I made a beer we named Family Roots which has a great story, it’s a Coffee Flan inspired Ale that took 1st place in Florida at last years Brewers Guild, We used a coffee roasted by our in house master roaster Jeremy Denny who makes our Cuban espresso roasted beans which we in turn make our Cuban espresso cold brew coffee with. Absolutely nothing like it on the market today. Its a true game changer. I could not be happier with that collaboration. Tampa Bay Brewing Company for their Cheese and Ale dip, Coppertail Brewing makes one of my favorite beers, Night Swim. Also, have to stop by Bahama Breeze on the Causeway and Frenchy’s on the Beach. Then walk on the Pier after we are done eating and enjoying the view, smells and sounds only a beach can offer. Weeki Wachee Springs and Homosassa Springs are a must. What a beautiful place to swim and visit just north of Tampa. Also, the Sponge docks in Tarpon Springs and the fairy that takes you out to Anclote Key is beautiful. The power plant at Big Ben is also great, depending on the time of year, you can see a ton of manatees. Disney’s Epcot is a great foodie spot. A ton of food and drink options from around the world showcase. Plus, I hear they serve some AMAZING flan, wink wink. Also, you have to experience The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City and stay for the Spanish Flamenco dancing show and the late nights at La Teresita Cuban Restaurant in West Tampa too. For some of the very best barbeque brisket I’d go to Station House. Oh, I cant forget the German food and beer at Dunderbaks. Our local theme parks, Busch Gardens and Zoo Tampa formally Lowry Park and The Florida Aquarium are great too. Have to go watch some of the best sports teams in the industry like the Lightning, Bucs and Rays. There is just so much to do it would take a year to go a visit all of my favorites. I have too many more to list.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother Norma, my wife Nicole, my Father Rene’ my in-laws Richard & Sharon and a great group of friends Derek, who was there with me since the beginning, Becky, Charlotte, Josh, Nomaris, Tom and Jose.

Website: www.niaddi.com

Instagram: NiaddiFlan

Linkedin: Joe Lopez

Facebook: NiaddiFlan