The sweet aroma of cinnamon-sugar and decadent dulce de leche is a familiar scent at Emory University’s Atlanta campus events. It belongs to Queen Churro, a food truck recognizable by its blue and white design, and well known among students for its delicious treats and hospitable customer service. Queen Churro has served Emory’s campus at numerous events since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Dessert connoisseur” Marcinea Pearson, founder, owner and operator of Queen Churro, has a special rule: eat dessert before dinner! Marcinea’s affinity for desserts started as a little girl, as she has fond memories of baking in the kitchen with her mother. However, she didn't discover churros until college when she stumbled upon a churro cart in Beverly Hills.
“I fell in love with churros and every time the cart was there I had them,” Pearson said. “After that, no other dessert really compared for me.”
Pearson is the type of person who feels like an old friend after just one short encounter.
She has been in the food truck business for 10 years and started Queen Churro after customers at her savory food truck, Island Chef Cafe, began requesting dessert.
“We wanted to create a niche within Atlanta, so I went back to what I fell in love with, and churros was it,” Pearson said.
Driven by her enthusiasm for this new concept, Pearson said she sat down and created the entire menu in five minutes. The menu features the classic churro with caramel dip sauce, which is especially popular among Emory students, who often ask for extra containers. Her menu also consists of some out-of-the-box churro creations, including the churro banana split, and the new churros and ice cream, which has gained a loyal following. The classic churros are served in a few scoops of Queen Churro’s homemade cinnamon brown sugar or salted caramel ice cream. This treat garners sighs of pleasure and convinces passersby to join the line.
Queen Churro’s debut appearance was at the 2019 One Music Fest at Centennial Olympic Park. Right before the COVID-19 pandemic, Pearson describes this day as “beautiful chaos.” The event was a success and kickstarted their growth, allowing the business to persevere through economic uncertainty. Queen Churro was the only food truck in Atlanta that continued to progress throughout the pandemic, Pearson said, and they were ultimately counted as an essential business.
Pearson attributes a portion of Queen Churro’s success to their special bond with Emory, which began in March 2021 when they received a call from Senior Associate Director of Student Life & Engagement Vernon Smith, asking them to come to campus that weekend. This relationship was initiated in hopes of keeping students on campus to lower the risk of students being exposed to and spreading COVID-19, Pearson noted.
“We were beyond excited to provide our services and that you guys would even want dessert outside of savory necessity,” Pearson said.
From here, an unbreakable bond was formed. Pearson and her team said found students’ presence on Emory’s campus during COVID-19 was “essential to the spirit, and to creating a family base within Emory,” especially during such isolating times.
In addition to bonding with the students, the Queen Churro team has formed close relationships with the student life team, Pearson said.
“Lisa Lovejoy is amazing as far as making sure we are well taken care of, as well as Abbi Yachini, and we cannot forget Vernon who placed the first call and got the ball rolling,” Pearson said.
Pearson said her fondest Emory memory was when Queen Churro was invited on campus for a second time.
“The line just developed before we opened the window,” Pearson said. “It was magical.”
Queen Churro is now a recurring visitor on campus, and the truck is always surrounded by the students who gladly wait in long lines for the sweet desserts.
“We really get excited about coming to Emory because we create relationships with the students,” Pearson said. “They call us by our names, we’ll call them by their names. We’re learning the faces and knowing who everyone is at this point.”
This intentional effort to connect with students is not lost on customers, like Lily Hollenberg (26C).
“It’s always a great experience,” Hollenberg said. “I’m happy that Emory has them on campus so often.”
“The service is always very fast and the line moves quickly,” Julia Nagel (25C) said. “The people who work there are always so friendly.”
Queen Churro expects to serve 300 to 500 students at each Emory visit. Despite their ever-growing popularity, Pearson remains humble and dedicated to meeting her high standards and exceeding expectations.
“As many times as we serve churros, it doesn’t matter, every time we open the window we’re nervous to know that we’ll still be received well and that everybody will enjoy the desserts,” Pearson said. “We want to constantly give a great product.”
Queen Churro’s mission goes beyond just serving tasty desserts. Pearson said they strive to make everyone feel at home through their menu to appeal to Emory’s diverse student body. These special treats include the Boba Lemonade, which is Taiwanese in origin, the Churro Peach Cobbler, a “southern delight” and the Mangonada, an authentic Mexican frozen mango dessert.
“We want to support all the different students and cultures within what we create,” Pearson said. “That’s what we’re trying to do: embrace everybody, so that everybody gets a little taste of home, since they are mostly away from home,” Pearson said.
She also emphasizes the significance of the classic churro that’s always present on her menu. According to Pearson, although this dessert was said to originate in Spain, many fight over its place of origin, with some citing Mexican, Portuguese and Chinese roots.
“It’s just simple and loved by everyone,” Pearson said. “It’s cultural, it’s attached to the nostalgia of our childhood and it’s celebrated. It gives us a sense of home and comfort wherever the claim of origin. We can all support the cultural diversity, love it and enjoy it!”
