Last week when Dallas City Council member Chad West set up a vaccine registration drive outside a barbershop along Jefferson Avenue, several vendors showed up to peddle their goods. One was Chamoyitas Picositas, the brainchild of Esmeralda Sanchez, a Mesquite native who started this small business as a way to earn extra income after she lost her job when COVID hit.

“I was so frustrated because I had bills to pay and also need to provide for my kids,” says the 22-year-old, who is also attending school to become a medical assistant. “Then, I heard people talking about these candies that they were ordering online and how they were super good. So, I had all the ingredients I needed to make it and try it myself.”

She created her own recipe for the chamoy (a condiment made from dehydrated fruit). She adds it along with name-brand spices Tajin and Lucas to assorted candies. After her friends tried her version, they encouraged her to continue. Soon she landed a part-time job and used that money to invest in her own company.

"People really liked my candies and that honestly motivated me to invest and try to make them pop out more," Sanchez says.


Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, gummy bears, Nerd Ropes and other candies swim in the spicy, pickle-sour glaze. The result is a messy, beautiful, sticky, possibly-make-your-face-sweat, highly addictive treat. When I taught, my junior high students got me on Takis, and I loved and hated them for that. This is a bit of that same experience.

The Sour Patch watermelon candies are fantastic. The first bite is face-twisting tart, but once your taste buds figure out what’s going on, the candy dissolves, adding sweetness. You can’t eat just one, but more than five or six in one sitting can be a bit much, although I can envision someone barreling through a container pretty quickly (junior high kids). We’re getting down to the bottom of our second container and anxiety is starting to build as to when we’re going to get more.

Chamoyitas Picositas operates as a cottage food business and takes orders through their social media pages, including Facebook and Instagram (chamoyitas_picositas) or they can arrange for pickup in the Mesquite area or deliver for a fee. Payments are accepted online, or you can pay cash. An 8-ounce container is $5, 16-ounces is $10.

Chamoyitas Picositas will also be at 9600 Lake June Road for a Valentine's pop-up extravaganza on Feb. 13 from noon to 5 p.m.