The little mercado that could

The more that conventional retailers seek a foothold in ethnic retailing, the more they'll run up against the entrenched local opposition—operators with roots deep in ethnic communities, that know their markets because they live in them. Operators such as El Burrito Mercado.

In 1979 a Mexican-American couple living in the Twin Cities decided to open a food market. Calling on experience as vendors in Mexico, they sourced as many Latino products as they could, and sold them to the Mexicans who were moving into the area in growing numbers.

Today El Burrito Mercado not only operates a bustling 20,000-square-foot store-and-restaurant combo, but also distributes El Burrito Mercado label tortilla chips and salsas sold in SuperTarget and other large food retailers, as well as running a wholesaling operation.

Tomas Silva, one of the company's current owners, is the son of its founders, Tomas Sr. and Maria Silva. He notes how the company's humble beginnings brought it to where it is today. "One of our signature items was carnitas, or fried pork. That item helped us to develop what our deli and restaurant concept is today," he says.

Located in the heart of the Latino community of District Del Sol in St. Paul, El Burrito Mercado serves Hispanic shoppers plus a growing number of non-Hispanics who enjoy its authentically ethnic product mix. Its emphasis is on fresh, but it also carries staple items that Hispanics buy, including flour, beans, rice, cases of infant formula, and 25-pound bags of sugar.

"From the outside of the store, you can tell you're going to walk into something totally different," notes Silva. "It's stucco, and the color is very bright—yellowish-orange with blue and maroon trim. Inside, piñatas hang from the ceiling, and the walls are adorned with Mexican imported handcrafts, paintings, and wall hangings."

Also inside is the cafeteria-style dining area, which features a daily lineup including menudo (tripe), six varieties of guisados (Mexican stew with beef, pork, or chicken), bistec a la Mexicana (Mexican steak), and pollo al diablo (chicken with hot sauce), among others. A variety of tortas (sandwiches), tacos, and quesadillas are also sold. Customers can get their food to go, or stay and eat in either a casual seating area or a section offering table service.

The festive environment is punctuated by an hourly chant among customers and associates of "Juntos!" which means "together." The practice was inspired by Wal-Mart's in-store chants, says Johnny Gill, the company's general manager, whose resume includes key management roles at HEB, Wal-Mart supercenters, and SuperTarget.

On weekends the store features cookouts on an outdoor patio. A corn-roasting machine keeps hot corn in constant supply, along with the treat's most popular condiments, butter, sour cream, cojita cheese, and salt and pepper.

The store runs a fresh scratch bakery operation every day, says Gill. "We sell one non-Hispanic product—a sugar doughnut that's made fresh from the same dough we use to make the traditional Hispanic products," he notes. "Our No. 1 items are bolillos, or little French breads, and pan dulce, or Mexican sweet bread. We sell hundreds of these a day. Our guests count on them being fresh." The key: genuine skills in the house. "Our bakers are a key part of the store's success," he says.

In the deli, meanwhile, guacamole, made fresh every hour, is the top seller.

"These departments come with a cost—they're labor-intensive," admits Gill. Although he won't share sales figures, he says that the demand justifies the investment. "Our shoppers buy fresh. That's where we make it back."

In another sign of its devotion to freshness, El Burrito Mercado packages and labels its own spices. "This provides not only a lower cost for the customer, but also fresher product," notes Gill.

El Burrito Mercado has been a wholesaler for five years, and now serves grocers, drug stores, convenience stores, and restaurants in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota—proving that the drive to capitalize on demand for authentic ethnic food is reaching far beyond the supermarket channel.

"The majority of our wholesale business is smaller independent retailers," adds Gill. Its account base includes several Asian-owned independent grocers. Explains Silva, "Other ethnic supermarkets are getting our products because some of their customers are looking for items we carry, like Tampico and Goya."

El Burrito Mercado's latest offshoot venture is catering for events including birthdays, graduation parties, weddings, and bar mitzvhas. "Not only do we deliver, we serve," says Gill. "We also service large parties in part of our sit-down restaurant area on weekends and on some evenings."

Is there anything this little yet formidable ethnic food seller can't do?