There is a picture in the Daily Oklahoman, but I can't download it so someone feel free to post it.



Thu November 8, 2007

Hispanic supermarket is first of two planned for city

By Trisha Evans
Business Writer
Daily Oklahoman

When El Mariachi Supermercado opens next month, it probably will be the only place in Oklahoma where one can buy pickled cactus, pick out a pinata and visit the doctor's office all in one stop.

The full-size grocery store and in-store clinic and pharmacy at 415 SW 59 will open Nov. 21. It will be the first of at least two Hispanic grocery stores owner Kun Won "Terry” Yu will open in Oklahoma City.

Yu's company, Terry's Supermarkets, operates nine Hispanic grocery stores and a 100,000-square-foot distribution center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

He said expanding into Oklahoma City was a practical move because the Hispanic grocery market here is underserved.

"There are many small stores,” Yu said. "Even though there are many Hispanic stores, there's no one that gives Hispanics (all) they need. We furnish what they need and want.”

The store will include some American products but most will be products that include labels in Spanish.

Yu bought the failing Jerry's Supermarket 12 years ago. "I invested by mistake in the supermarket business. I thought it was very easy to operate, but it's very hard to operate,” he said. "The margins are very slim.”

Since then, however, he's learned how to make the stores profitable by serving his customers.

Cash-strapped, Yu could only afford to change one letter in the supermarket's logo. So Jerry's Supermarket became Terry's.

"Then my nickname is Terry. We grew to five and six stores and everybody knew me as Terry,” Yu said.

He has purchased a vacant grocery store at NW 16 and Drexel where he plans to open a second store in April or May.

Store operations director Rick Claus said the stores will focus on meat and produce — two categories very important to the Hispanic customer.

"That's the staple behind their meal,” Claus said. "They're not like typical shoppers. A lot of these women shop five or seven days a week. They come here and they'll buy three pounds of Roma tomatoes, and they'll use them that same day.”

About 40 percent of the store will be devoted to meat and produce, while the frozen food section will be lean.

The store will sell aisles of Hispanic goods, including spices, candies, cookies, sodas, laundry detergents and health and beauty products.

"We'll be competitive and offer people who are not Hispanic great prices on produce and meat,” Claus said.

The store also will sell a variety of products from Central America, Mexico and South America, merchandising director John Miller said.

"Hispanic people buy a lot of their products on brand recognition. They're very loyal customers, and we're trying to give them what they recognize,” he said.

Haha, I just saw in the comments section below her article, the following comments. I must say, I totally agree.


I agree Marc, the Oklahoman gets weaker reporting by the day. It makes me sick. This is a very lazy story that belongs in a high school newspaper. You can get all the items Trisha mentioned (cactus, pinata, etc.)at a Buy For Less. The Hispanic population is a large segment of OKC and there are numerous hispanic supermarkets, too many to list in fact. Ever drive over in Capitol Hill or Stockyards City? How about down SW 59th or S. Western?
downtown, Oklahoma City - Nov 8, 2007 8:45 AM
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Story by Trisha Evans is another example of lazy reporting. Hispanics are plentiful in various sections of Oklahoma and so are foodstuffs from Mexico. Most grocery stores in areas with Hispanic populations have the items you mentioned. Furthermore just across the state line in Liberal, ks you can find a Hispanic grocery store, El Mercado, that is reportedly in a financial crisis. Your story was just ilke my grade school teacher indicated, it was written for someone with an eighth grade education or below.
Marc, Hooker - Nov 8, 2007 7:39 AM
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barf !

It'll be a great place for the INS to set up a checkpoint!

;)

Really nice comment John.

The Oklahoman has really been pandering to the pro-illegal movement lately. As I have said many-a-time, it's not really a liberal or conservative paper, it's a chamber of commerce paper.

A lot of those chamber of commerce folks have a lot to lose by having to pay higher wages and worker's comp for legal citizens.

The Oklahoman has really been pandering to the pro-illegal movement lately. As I have said many-a-time, it's not really a liberal or conservative paper, it's a chamber of commerce paper.

A lot of those chamber of commerce folks have a lot to lose by having to pay higher wages and worker's comp for legal citizens.

Sounds like we need a change at the Chamber of Commerce.

Not sure what you're getting at, Midtowner. Are you saying that you think the CoC are bad guys? Some non-hispanic Okies are not very thrilled with the new law for reasons that have nothing to do with business ... I'm one.

Not sure what you're getting at, Midtowner. Are you saying that you think the CoC are bad guys?

Absolutely not. I just think that many of them hold a lot of influence over the media and local politicians and are willing to use that influence and power to pad their pocket books. Many businesses owned by CoC-types are huge beneficiaries of illegal immigration since they can save a lot on labor by ignoring pesky little things like the FLSA, worker's compensation, etc. Many CoC members are in need of low-skilled laborers and stand to lose money if illegal immigration is somehow abated.

I don't think it makes them "bad guys" at all -- they're just looking out for Uncle Dudley so to speak. Looking out for oneself and one's own interests is a very American activity. I certainly can't fault them for that. They're part of the Democratic process, but much to their chagrin, I think, they're not the only part of the Democratic process.

Their motives and interests are not the same as mainstream America. Most of us are interested in not seeing our schools and social services flooded by folks who are here illegally and drain more from our tax base/social services than they contribute.


Some non-hispanic Okies are not very thrilled with the new law for reasons that have nothing to do with business ... I'm one.

I don't disagree with you, but absent a list, or an example of "reasons that thave nothing to do with business," I'm sort of at a loss as to how to respond.

I can understand wanting to be able to get brands with which you are familiar - really I do. A lot of new imigrants are bound to be homesick. At the same time, I hope new immigrants are working to assimilate into the community. I would rather see them shopping at regular grocery stores for just that reason.

In the past, it has taken new Americans as many as three generations to really assimilate into the culture. It's hard to understand that really since the last huge wave of immigrants (comparable to the Mexicans at least) was Irish, already speaking the language. Prior to and during that time, however, there were many immigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe. There were entire towns which spoke languages other than English. In the end, it worked out.

I'm not particularly concerned with culture or ethnicity. That sort of thing works itself out over the long-haul. On the other hand, I am quite concerned with the fiscal strain illegals are placing on our infrastructure.

Would someone smarter than me explain the difference between a SuperMercado's and a Cao Nguyen supermarket?

One is an Asian supermarket carrying primarily products from E Asia and SE Asia. The other specializes in Mexican and Hispanic foods.

You can get all the items Trisha mentioned (cactus, pinata, etc.)at a Buy For Less.


Sounds like the reader is lazy as well.

'When El Mariachi Supermercado opens next month, it probably will be the only place in Oklahoma where one can buy pickled cactus, pick out a pinata and visit the doctor's office all in one stop.'

Regardless, who cares?

There are a lot of Hispanics here that aren't Illegal.

Perhaps they want a specialty store to buy things they can't get elsewhere or competitive pricing.

I I would rather see them shopping at regular grocery stores for just that reason.

That is officially the dumbest thing I've heard all year. Look, here's an AMERICAN that shops at Mercados. Disgusting, I tell you. He should be eating at McDonalds and quit wasting his time with foreign cuisine.

Rick Bayless & Frontera News: Gourmet Mexican Cooking – Rick Bayless | Frontera (http://www.rickbayless.com/)

I think this is an awesome thing for OKC. I shop weekly at Super Cao and am sure I will make trips to this new Mexican market as well. I frequently visit the Best Buy at 39th and McArthur for their great selection of Mexican goods and their awesome Hispanic deli (mmm....tortas!)

One of the best grocers I have ever visited is the Ranch Market in Phoenix, it is so cool and I hope this place is similar.

Welcome to PROS RANCH MARKETS (http://www.prosranch.com/)

Would someone smarter than me explain the difference between a SuperMercado's and a Cao Nguyen supermarket?

Did anyone suggest there was a difference?

That is officially the dumbest thing I've heard all year. Look, here's an AMERICAN that shops at Mercados. Disgusting, I tell you. He should be eating at McDonalds and quit wasting his time with foreign cuisine.

Rick Bayless & Frontera News: Gourmet Mexican Cooking – Rick Bayless | Frontera (http://www.rickbayless.com/)

Where did this sort of hostility come from? Is there really a need for sarcasm and insults? Why do you think that was a stupid comment? Are you not aware that the lack of assimilation is something that has a caused a great deal of problems in France and other European countries? That is not to say that it will have the same result in this country but since it has led to significant problems in other countries, I think it is a legitimate concern. The point of my post, since you clearly missed it, was to invite new immigrants to because part of our community rather than stand apart. Did that not come through? Honey, that was a great big welcome mat, in case you didn't notice.

And why would you think I was suggesting that these folks have to give up foreign cuisine or eat at McDonalds? I never said or implied that. What I SAID was that assimilation is a good, healthy thing. I didn't say there shouldn't be hispanic grocery stores. In fact, the neighborhood store where I shop is hispanic and you can get the best meat in town, there (which is a good thing!).

Just head to your neighborhood Walmart...They are assimilating quite well

Really no comparison between the immigrant problems in Europe and here at home...Theirs is more of a religion problem...We all know that is a much more difficult situation to remedy

Where did this sort of hostility come from? Is there really a need for sarcasm and insults? Why do you think that was a stupid comment? Are you not aware that the lack of assimilation is something that has a caused a great deal of problems in France and other European countries? That is not to say that it will have the same result in this country but since it has led to significant problems in other countries, I think it is a legitimate concern. The point of my post, since you clearly missed it, was to invite new immigrants to because part of our community rather than stand apart. Did that not come through? Honey, that was a great big welcome mat, in case you didn't notice.

And why would you think I was suggesting that these folks have to give up foreign cuisine or eat at McDonalds? I never said or implied that. What I SAID was that assimilation is a good, healthy thing. I didn't say there shouldn't be hispanic grocery stores. In fact, the neighborhood store where I shop is hispanic and you can get the best meat in town, there (which is a good thing!).

Yeah, great big welcome mat. "Welcome to America, now shop where I shop and eat what we eat."

Assimilation isn't a necessity, diversity is what we're all about. If we were all the same, it would be a boring, boring country. And if we followed your logic, there would be no Mexican restaurants, no Italian eateries, no Greek diners. Just Johnnie's hamburger joints.

Absolutely not. I just think that many of them hold a lot of influence over the media and local politicians and are willing to use that influence and power to pad their pocket books. Many businesses owned by CoC-types are huge beneficiaries of illegal immigration since they can save a lot on labor by ignoring pesky little things like the FLSA, worker's compensation, etc. Many CoC members are in need of low-skilled laborers and stand to lose money if illegal immigration is somehow abated.

I don't think it makes them "bad guys" at all -- they're just looking out for Uncle Dudley so to speak. Looking out for oneself and one's own interests is a very American activity. I certainly can't fault them for that. They're part of the Democratic process, but much to their chagrin, I think, they're not the only part of the Democratic process.

Their motives and interests are not the same as mainstream America. Most of us are interested in not seeing our schools and social services flooded by folks who are here illegally and drain more from our tax base/social services than they contribute.

I don't disagree with you, but absent a list, or an example of "reasons that thave nothing to do with business," I'm sort of at a loss as to how to respond.
Midtowner, rather than muck up this thread more than it already is, I've made a few comments here: http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-area-talk/11436-thoughts-new-immigration-law-4.html#post119222

Very cool. I love specialty markets. I just wish it was locally owned (this is a Dallas operation, right?)

As for the other gobledeegook on this thread, let's just sign 'em up make them pay taxes and all is good.

Seriously, though, there are PLENTY of hard working LEGAL immigrants in America. In fact, they built this country and continue to do so (probably most of us can trace our family's citizenship back to some folks that may not have been legal the day they started working). These markets are for them as well as any native born American who wants authentic Mexican and Latin foods. But, of course, we have to turn anything Mexican into a discussion about immigration, even if it's the food, which Okies clearly LOVE, given the dominance they hold over our ethnic restaurant selection.

Really no comparison between the immigrant problems in Europe and here at home...Theirs is more of a religion problem...We all know that is a much more difficult situation to remedy

One thing that has been going on Europe right now is that there is alot of anger and racism towards Latinos moving to Spain as well as African immigrants who enter from boats on the Gibiltar/Mediterranean and to the Canary Islands and venture into the rest of the EU. The religion problem is on the Muslims moving to Europe. They used to laugh at us for racism here in the U.S., now they are going through similar situations such as Illegal immigration. Latino's moving to Spain is more of a racial thing yet there are many cultural similarties between both Spain and Latin American in general.

Having a hispanic market in oklahoma city seems a good idea, now there will be more to choose from. I'm hispanic myself, yet extremely americanized since it helps that my mother was americanized before she step foot on US soil. Go to Mexico City you'll find some families never eat tortillas and always use bread rolls with dinner or vice-versa (not to mention find foods from around the world), Or like one of my friends in Mexico who watches mainly American TV shows and eats alot of American foods. I only occasionally go to a store on 29th street to buy some fajita meat to cook on a grill. And I love the way it tastes.

Re diversity - assimilation is all about diversity - we all bring what we have to the existing culture. The point is not to avoid "contaminating" the existing culture, rather, it is to avoid such extreme changes in such a short period of time that you can't blend two (or more) cultures peacefully and/or share with each other in a productive manner.

If you believe that it is best for society and our culture for there to be separate and co-existing cultures with different values; different mother tongue; different view of the government; different value placed on education - especially for women; different views of appropriate roles of women; different view regarding the right and obligation to responsibly practice birth control; etc., have at it - Just be honest and prepared to explain why that is a good idea. Conclusory statements without the effort to explain what any thinking person can see is problematic is intellectually lazy and begs a zillion questions. "Diversity is GOOD and if you don't agree with that you are a bad person!" is a good start to explaining a position. Lacking more - a lot more - is just silly.

It is simplistic to reduce cultural differences to such things as taste in food and I can't imagine trying to do so with a straight face. When someone implies others are "haters" because they have concerns about the clash of cultures without assimilation, I am willing to bet they haven't thought much about it beyond gleefully thinking they have an excuse to claim to be morally superior or more open minded than someone else.

WTF? Mother tongue? Responsibly practice birth control? CONTAMINATION?

Your descriptors are a bit scary. You throw that out there like people that aren't American are somehow tainted and you're grouping entire countries of people into very narrow stereotypes...Then you call MY point of view that of a non-thinking silly idiot.

Free country you know. I can walk around all day speaking Swahili and eating lutefisk if that's what strikes my fancy.

WTF? Mother tongue? Responsibly practice birth control? CONTAMINATION?

Your descriptors are a bit scary. You throw that out there like people that aren't American are somehow tainted and you're grouping entire countries of people into very narrow stereotypes...Then you call MY point of view that of a non-thinking silly idiot.

Free country you know. I can walk around all day speaking Swahili and eating lutefisk if that's what strikes my fancy.

Excuse me - tainted?? Where did you get that, I ask? It was a discussion of difference between cultures and the prudence of assimilation to avoid an abrupt clash. Note, I did not say which "culture" should win - you brought that to the table, yourself. As for "contamination," I said that it WASN'T about contamination.

Of COURSE you can go around speaking Swahilli and eating lutefish - who said or implied you couldn't? What is the point of your post? Not one thing you said took what I wrote in any kind of context. You sound like a paranoid loon.

Well I did forget my tinfoil hat today.

I can get a little wild without mine.

I DID see a UFO, once.

I just to glad to see that someone is putting both of those properties to good use.

I was tired of seeing both of those buildings set empty. I can understand why Homeland closed the store on Walker. Wal-Mart and Warehouse Market were most likely taking all the business.

On the other hand the NW 16th store should have stayed open. There are many people that shopped that store because it was nestled in the neighborhood. My grandparents loved having a store so close for last minute items. Now they have to go all the way 23rd and Penn because is just to rough of a store Whittakers.

I would hope no one is as ignorant as some seem to be.

Hispanic does not equate to being "illegal".

Did someone equate hispanic with illegal? The argument was whether new LEGAL immigrants, regardless of national origin, should work to assimilate. I don't think anyone argued that hispanic grocery stores should not exist although there was some rather excited folk who seemed to want to suggest that. Illegal immigrants shouldn't be here shopping in the first place.

Did someone equate hispanic with illegal?

I am convinced they may as well have, it sure seems that way at times --- I do think there are plenty of people who will be dissapointed, once the illegals are gone, to see just how many 'legal' hispanics are here.

Do you believe there is not a thread of racism in some 'anti-illegal' quarters?

I think that to some people to be hispanic is your first strike against you.

NOTE: I do not support illegal immigration.

To be honest, I think a lot of intellectually lazy people take exception to "hispanics" without connecting the dots that the problem is not their national origin but the fact that they are illegal. These may be folks that equate the two which is an intellectually bankrupt position to take. To be sure, there are a LOT of ignorant, hating individuals who think it is funny to attack a group different from themselves, but the vast numbers of people who are opposed to illegal immigration don't buy into that and think that position is ignorant and disgusting.

That being said, there ARE cultural differences with new hispanic immigrants which I find worrisome, the primary one being a lack of respect for the value of education, particularly with young ladies. In our country, education is key to social advancement. I don't mean a college education or something like that - I am talking about a basic secondary education through highschool. Absent embracing the value of education, and the willingness to insist that their kids get educated, you end up with a servant class and I find that utterly disgusting.

I see red everytime I hear people say illegals will do jobs Americans won't do. It sickens me that people say, essentially, "Let 'em stay so their children can bus my tables!" How demeaning. It is one thing to choose that line of work. No honest labor is without value. It is another thing to be locked into jobs that are considered less valuable (hence the notion that Americans won't do them). Anyone who lives in this country should be in a position, through hard work, to have the American dream. Unchecked illegal immigration locks a lot of people into an underclass. They may be living better than in their native country but having an underclass based on national origin is not what we Americans have tried to create. I read and hear a lot of people say snotty things about different groups but I personally couldn't point to a single person who, when pressed, thinks a different group should be in a servant class. They might angrily want to send an illegal to jail, but they don't expect them to be their servant. Maybe I'm off the mark and some people actually believe that. I haven't run across them, as far as I know.

Good post, East, although I would say that the lack of emphasis on education follows primarily social-economic lines as is the case here in the states. It's the old "working the fields or mines or factory or take-your-pick was good enough for my dad and good enough for you" mentality that you run into sometimes everywhere. On the other hand, I have seen many families in Mexico sacrifice almost every penny they had to make sure their kids went to the schools "in town" and did well enough to get scholarships and so on. It's true that the upper crust are not the ones who feel the need to take their chances in crossing the border---and again, I do not condone that--- but I do understand it and am thankful we've not had to do anything like that ourselves.
Bad & good apples everywhere, it's a complicated set of issues, I hold the Mexican government responsible to a great degree, for not having the least desire to take care of their own, even though they have Saudi rivaling oil reserves. I also think that the Mexican families themselves have some blame, of course... it used to be the 'bracero' that came across the border to work awhile and go home, not the whole clan.
As for undesirable subcultures, I agree, there are valid points to there, but again, to me those run along socio-economic lines more than cultural IMHO, i.e., we need look no further than our own welfare state that has run amuck for a prime example.

Back to the original theme of this thread, I hope they have good chilies at this market ;).

Peace.

I can't dispute that a failure to value education is a prevalent characteristic of generational lower socio economic class. As for illegal immigrants, it may be that the latinos illegally in this country are predominately from a lower socio economic class. I recall a conversation (obviously this is anectdotal) with a courthouse Spanish interpreter about the prevalence of young hispanics who run afoul of the law. I speculated that as new immigrants, their parents might be working dawn to dawn to keep a roof over their heads and their children might not have the kind of supervision that lent itself to keeping kids out of trouble. My point was that these kids might be running wild as a direct result of the stresses that come with being a new immigrant but that overall, their families were probably hard working and good people. The interpreter was utterly scathing in her response. She was raised in a Central American country and had immigrated here as a young woman. She said that the illegals involved in the court system were the equivalent of "trailer trash" where she came from and were giving upstanding latino citizens like her family a bad name. I really didn't know what to say and that was the first time I'd had a conversation with a legal immigrant on the subject but since I am such a brilliant conversationist, I managed to say, "Huh." It sort of caught me by surprise.

Since that time, I have consistently heard the same thing from a lot of other legal immigrants. We have a number of interpreters at the courthouse and they make no bones about the fact that they think the illegal latinos, especially those who end up at the courthouse, are trashy and don't know how to parent. I guess there is always a tension between the middle class of a given group and their less outstanding members. I have heard the same sort of comments from middle class african american people who cringe at being lumped in with "ghetto trash" (their phrase). I guess I don't want to be lumped in with the trailor trash (notwithstanding that I am just barely one generation out of the trailor park!) and many other groups feel the same way. My son dated a Mandarin Chinese girl and I suspect her family would have thought we were all just like Britney if she'd ever worked up enough nerve to confess that she was slumming with a white boy. :ohno:

I live on 46th and Walker, so I'm pretty close to this new one. The SuperMercado is pretty much done, but now it looks like they are redoing that whole shopping center. They are redoing the whole facade, they planted a bang, A BANG, of trees a sprinkler system, and a nice little landscaped entrance.

that shopping center has needed help for a long time. i sure hope that the updates look good... can't say i'm entirely thrilled with the exterior of the mercado... though i'm personally more interested in the kind of stuff they sell.

i wanted to drop by today but didn't get the chance... anyone know if they opened on schedule?

-M

I went by there this morning. To check it out. And it wasn't opened :( I guess the workers still needed more training.