They are a dominating force in a downward economy. Latino supermarkets are not only becoming a trend, but the fastest growing segment in the retail industry.
Evelia Duran has spent the past five months looking for a job. Last week, this student got a break at the new Northgate Gonzalez Market in City Heights.
“For next semester it's going help me a lot so I could buy more books,” says Duran. But the 21 year old is not alone.
“We had over 6,000 applicants, and we were able to hire rough and dirty about 148 people,” says Ed Cabral, store manager for Northgate Gonzalez Market in City Heights.
From jobs to farm fresh produce this Latino supermarket is helping the community in more ways than one.
"It’s the differentiation, everything that people would find back home. It's the quality,” says Cabral. But for many, it's also the price.
“I bought a whole grocery basket full of groceries yesterday over at Food for Less. It probably would have been around $150 something. But over here, it was $57,” says Travis Wilkerson, a customer.
This multi-billion dollar business is going main stream. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Latino supermarkets are the fastest growing segments in the retail industry.
“It’s not just Latino-based. It's got a whole wide range of ethnic foods that you can choose from,” says Tyler Wilkerson.
“We have Anglos, we have African-Americans, we have Asians. It's just very very diverse here,” says Cabral.
This concept creates a wealth of opportunity while simultaneously catering to a diverse community.
Northgate Gonzalez Market plans to open its 8th San Diego location in Barrio Logan in fall of 2012. The franchise opened its first store in Orange County and now has 34 stores across Southern California.
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