14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 28 November 2023 – When it comes to ice cream and sweets, Cubans are true believers. On Tuesday, they lined up In front of Coppelia, Havana’s much-diminished “cathedral of ice cream,” which had been closed for several weeks. They had little reason to rejoice, however. The sluggish employees and poor service have been ridiculed by customers, who claim the only one thing that is back to normal is the long lines. ## “There’s ice cream but no cookies,” an employee warns at Coppelia’s entrance. It has become common practice for the establishment’s staff to speak in negatives. When the closure was announced a few days ago, the explanation was equally concise: “There’s no ice cream, there’s no milk, there’s no sugar.
Customers have come up with an explanation for the staff’s lethargy. “They’ve spent so many days without work that they must have forgotten how to do it,” says one elderly woman in a loud voice, unconcerned whether the staff can hear her or not.
Customers come hoping to order the Palmero, an ice cream of slightly higher quality than the regular options, at a cost of 65 pesos a scoop. But anyone who manages to get past the “fi