Hispanic “supermercados” are springing up around the nation and competing on price and product mix with small bodegas and mainstream supermarkets alike.
Demographic shifts are driving development of these retail stores, which often boast on-site tortilla factories, premium meat and seafood sections, and hot-food bars. See our photo gallery of the newest one: [Northgate Gonzalez opens in City Heights]
About 1 in 3 San Diego residents is Hispanic, up from around 1 in 4 a decade ago, according to 2010 census data. The U.S. Hispanic food and beverage market is $7 billion and is expected to reach $10 billion in 2014, according to market research by Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts.
Supermarket operators want a share of that spending. In San Diego County alone, at least a dozen Latin supermarkets have popped up in the past decade, sometimes in space vacated by mainstream supermarkets. The store operators include Northgate Gonzalez, Vallarta, El Super, and independent grocers.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: San Diego Union Tribune
