Fiesta Mart

Last updated
Fiesta Mart
Company typePrivate
Industry Retail
Founded1972(53 years ago) (1972) in Houston, Texas, United States
Headquarters Houston, Texas, United States
ProductsBakery, beer, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, gasoline, general merchandise, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, wine
Owner Grupo Comercial Chedraui, S.A.B. de C.V.
Website fiestamart.com
Former Fiesta Mart headquarters FiestaMartHQ.JPG
Former Fiesta Mart headquarters
Former Fiesta Mart location in Midtown, Houston, Texas, United States, which closed in July 2020. FiestaMartHouston.JPG
Former Fiesta Mart location in Midtown, Houston, Texas, United States, which closed in July 2020.

Fiesta Mart, L.L.C. , formerly Fiesta Mart Inc., [1] is a Latino-American supermarket chain based in Houston, Texas that was established in 1972. Fiesta Mart stores are located in Texas. The chain uses a cartoon parrot as a mascot. As of 2004 it operated 34 supermarkets in Greater Houston, 16 supermarkets in other locations in Texas, and 17 Beverage Mart liquor store locations. During the same year it had 7.5% of the grocery market share in Greater Houston. Many of its stores were located in Hispanic neighborhoods and other minority neighborhoods. [2]

Contents

The chain is best known for stocking Hispanic groceries, and also serves hot cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner; Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal said "The company has been successful at targeting the Hispanic market and specifically catering to their needs and shopping styles." [3] Bernie Murphy, a spokesperson for Fiesta, said in 2006 that at some stores Hispanics make up to 70% of those stores's clientele. [4] Fiesta caters to these customers with a large selection of foods and ingredients that are generally not available at a typical grocery store. Fiesta stores also often include several other stores owned by independent operators, such as discount jewelry and banking. Fiesta also operates Fiesta Liquor Stores, where only alcohol is sold.

History

In 1972, Donald Bonham and O.C. Mendenhall started Fiesta; neither of the men had Hispanic ethnic backgrounds. Bonham had farmed in Belize and Guatemala and supervised the creation of a Chilean supermarket chain. [3] When Bonham returned to Texas, he believed that Houston-area businesses did not adequately cater to Mexican Americans, a large segment of the city's population. Bonham opened the first Fiesta, which catered exclusively to Hispanic Americans, [5] in the Near Northside. [6]

As the demographics of Houston changed, by the late 1970s Fiesta added African, Indian, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese items. [5] By the mid-1980s Fiesta had 15 stores. [7] By 1989 the stores also featured items catering to African Americans and Thai Americans. By that year Fiesta had $420 million in annual sales, including $25 million in apparel sales. [5] As the chain developed, its clientele became larger and included second and third-generation Hispanics. [3]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Fiesta operated a very large supermarket and general goods store, an early version of modern supercenters like Walmart Supercenter or SuperTarget, at the southwest side of the intersection of I-45 and Texas State Highway NASA Road 1 in Webster, TX. This store was targeted towards the surrounding community, which was one of the more affluent Houston suburbs. It featured a large, sloped hydroponic garden along the north wall. The floor space was slowly sold off in portions in the 1990s. As of 2011, the location is now called the NASA Value Center Shopping Center and has no Fiesta presence.

In 1994, Fiesta acquired four locations sold by Appletree Markets. [8] In 1998 Fiesta made a marketing agreement with Conoco Inc. to allow the gas station chain to build gas stations on the properties of Fiesta supermarkets. [9] In 1999 Fiesta had 10.9% of Houston's grocery market. [7]

In 2003 the Houston Press ranked Fiesta as the "Best Grocery Store" in Houston. [10]

In 2004, Fiesta Mart was acquired by Grocers Supply, a family owned Houston-based wholesale groceries distributor. [11] On July 23, 2008, Fiesta Mart acquired eleven Carnival Brand stores from Minyard Food Stores. [12] In 2015 the Levit family, the owners of Grocers Supply, sold Fiesta to Acon Investments, a company based in Washington, DC. [6] California-based Bodega Latina and its Mexican parent company Chedraui acquired Fiesta Mart from Acon in April 2018. [13]

Headquarters and locations

The headquarters is on Wirt Road, [14] on the property of Store #8 in Spring Branch, Houston. [15] [16]

The headquarters was in the Cottage Grove area of Houston for many many years. [17] [18]

The property was sold,[ citation needed ] and the office was later in the Capital One building on Westheimer Road near the Galleria; [19] it moved there in 2018.[ citation needed ]

Locations:

Former stores

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">99 Ranch Market</span> Taiwanese-American supermarket chain

99 Ranch Market is an American supermarket chain owned by Tawa Supermarket Inc., which is based in Buena Park, California. 99 Ranch has 58 stores in the U.S., primarily in California, with other stores in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Virginia. The company also started offering shopping via its website in 2014. In February 2021, the company also launched their mobile app for grocery delivery. One of its main competitors is H-mart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian supermarket</span> Type of grocery store found in Western countries

In non-Asian countries, an Asian supermarket largely describes a category of grocery stores that focuses and stocks items and products imported from countries located in the Far East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H-E-B</span> American supermarket chain

H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 435 stores throughout Texas and Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an upscale organic and fine foods retailer. As of 2022, the company had a total revenue of US$38.9 billion. H-E-B ranked number 6 on Forbes' 2022 list of "America's Largest Private Companies". The company also ranked number 3 on Forbes' 2024 list of "Customer Experience All-Stars." H-E-B was named Retailer of the Year in 2010 by Progressive Grocer. Supermarket News ranks H-E-B 13th on the list of "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" by sales. Based on 2019 revenues, H-E-B is the 19th-largest retailer in the United States. It donates 5% of pretax profits to charity. The official mascot of H-E-B is named H-E-Buddy, an anthropomorphic brown grocery bag, with multiple grocery items emerging from the top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Thumb (grocery store)</span> American supermarket chain in Texas owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Tom Thumb is a chain of supermarkets in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It operates under the name Tom Thumb for traditional grocery stores and Flagship Tom Thumb for higher end stores in affluent areas. It makes up part of the Southern division of Albertsons. When combined with sister chains Albertsons and Market Street, it is the number two supermarket group in the competitive Dallas/Fort Worth area behind Walmart. The chain's distribution center is in Roanoke, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randalls</span> American supermarket chain in Texas owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Randalls Food & Drug L.P. is an American supermarket chain which operates 32 supermarkets in Texas under the Randalls and Flagship Randalls banners. The chain consists of 13 stores located around the Houston area and 15 stores located around the Austin area as of May 2020. Randalls today forms the nucleus of the current Houston division of Albertsons and is headquartered in the Westchase district of Houston. The office served as the headquarters of the independent Randalls company before its takeover and later the Texas division of Safeway. The Randalls distribution center was near Cypress, Texas, and now is serviced by the Tom Thumb distribution in Roanoke, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

AppleTree Markets was a supermarket chain in Texas formed in 1969 when Safeway opened its first stores in Houston, which were spun off under the AppleTree name in 1988. The division once had 100 stores in Greater Houston and Greater Austin. By January 21, 2002, AppleTree had reduced its holdings to two stores in Bryan, Texas, where it had shifted its headquarters. One of the remaining locations was sold in 2009 and the final location, in Bryan at Highway 21 and Texas Avenue, closed in early 2012, marking the end of the chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerland Corporation</span> American retail company

Gerland Corporation was a retail company headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States; the company operates various grocery stores, gas stations, and check cashing stores within the Greater Houston Area.

Sellers Bros. is a chain of grocery stores and convenience stores based in Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice Epicurean Markets</span> Grocery store chain based in Houston, Texas

Rice Epicurean Markets was an American niche grocery store chain based in Southwest Houston, Houston, Texas. There is now just one supermarket left of the chain. Prior to 2012 the company operated five Rice Epicurean Markets, which ranged in size from 25,000 to 42,000 square feet (3,900 m2). At its height, it operated 35 stores. The last Rice Epicurean Market is wholly owned by founding family members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlazAmericas</span> Shopping mall in Texas, United States

PlazAmericas, formerly known as Sharpstown Mall and earlier Sharpstown Center, is a shopping mall located in the Sharpstown development in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas. The mall is located on the northwest corner of Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 and Bellaire Boulevard. This is the third mall to be built in Houston after Gulfgate Mall opened in 1956 and Meyerland Plaza in 1957, but the first fully air-conditioned mall in Houston. The area includes the Jewelry Exchange Center, a ten-story building. After the mall was renamed PlazAmericas, it took a Latin American theme and catered to Hispanics. The anchor stores are Burlington, SuperNova Furniture, America Cinemas, La Sorella, Gold Factory & Imports, and Clarewood Supermercado.

Davis Food City was a supermarket chain headquartered Houston, Texas, United States, founded in 1965 and closed in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David's Supermarkets</span> Supermarket chain

David's Supermarkets was an independently owned supermarket chain headquartered in Grandview, Texas, United States. Founded in 1964, David's operated 25 stores in North Central Texas and Northeast Texas, concentrated in very small communities not served by other chains.

RLS Supermarkets LLC, doing business as Minyard Food Stores, was a privately owned supermarket chain in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H Mart</span> American chain of Asian supermarkets

H Mart is an American chain of Asian supermarkets operated by the Hanahreum Group, headquartered in Lyndhurst, Bergen County, New Jersey. The chain has 84 stores throughout the United States, operated variously as H Mart, H Mart Northwest, and H Mart Colorado. There are two stores in the Pacific Northwest that operate as "G Mart" that are associated with H Mart. H Mart also has stores in Canada and two in the United Kingdom. H Mart is the largest U.S.-based grocery store chain that specializes in Asian-style products and caters to Asian-American shoppers.

El Ahorro Supermarket is a supermarket chain in Texas, United States. It caters to Hispanic Americans. As of 2010 Rafael Ortega heads the chain. Ortega also owns the La Michoacana Meat Markets chain. The Spanish word "ahorro" means "saving."

Stanley Stores Inc. was a family-owned regional grocery store chain in the United States, with its headquarters in Bay City, Texas. The chain operated three brands. Stanley Stores was the conventional grocery store brand. The Houston Chronicle said that the brands Price Lo Supermarkets and Foods "4" Less were "modern, warehouse-type food stores with large sales and cut-rate prices." In 1994 Greg Hassel of the Houston Chronicle said that Stanley Stores was one of several "small area outfits" operating stores in the Houston area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foodarama</span> Supermarket chain in Texas, United States

Foodarama, also known as Cox's Foodarama, is a supermarket chain in Texas, with its headquarters in Foodarama Store #1 in Brays Oaks, Houston. In Greater Houston, as of 2016 Foodarama operated ten stores. Carrol Cox is the founder and president of Foodarama. As of 2011, 1,000 people worked for Foodarama. As of 2016, the Cox family were still the owners of the chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grocers Supply</span> American wholesale grocery distributor

The Grocers Supply Co., Inc. is a wholesale grocery distributor with its headquarters in the Southeast Houston district, Houston, Texas. As of 2011, it was the largest grocery wholesale company in the Southwest United States.

The Hispanic population in Houston is increasing as more immigrants from Latin American countries come to work in the area. As of 2006 the city has the third-largest Hispanic population in the United States. As of 2011, the city is 44% Hispanic. As of 2011, of the city's U.S. citizens that are Hispanic, half are age 18 or older, and are therefore at the age range eligible to vote. As of 2011 many Hispanics in Houston are not U.S. citizens, especially those living in Gulfton and Spring Branch, and are therefore ineligible to vote in elections. As a result, Hispanics have proportionally less representation in the municipal government than other ethnic groups. As of April 2011 two of the Houston City Council members are Hispanic, making up 18% of the council.

References

  1. ↑ "Terms and Conditions". Fiesta Mart. 2012-11-29. Archived from the original on 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  2. ↑ Kaplan, David and Nancy Sarnoff. "Wholesaler Grocers bags Houston's Fiesta Mart." Houston Chronicle . Thursday August 26, 2004. Retrieved on December 1, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 Wollam, Allison. "Grocers Supply may bag Fiesta Mart in acquisition deal." Houston Business Journal . Friday August 24, 2004. Retrieved on July 7, 2010. "The grocer now caters to more second and third-generation Hispanic Americans."
  4. ↑ "H-E-B Opens Mi Tienda Format in Pasadena Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine ." The Gourmet Retailer. October 5, 2006. Retrieved on July 17, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Hisey, Peter. "Ethnic food flavors Fiesta Mart; Houston chain poised to open hypermarket-size unit – supermarket chain." Discount Store News. September 4, 1989. 1. Retrieved on July 7, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Sarnoff, Nancy (2015-04-29). "Grocery icon Fiesta has new owners". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  7. 1 2 Sit-DuVall, Mary. "`Right' store was ripe for picking / Randalls joins trend with deal." Houston Chronicle . Saturday July 24, 1999. Business 1. Retrieved on December 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ Hassel, Greg. "AppleTree to hand over most stores this week." Houston Chronicle . Tuesday January 4, 1994. Business 1. Retrieved on December 1, 2011.
  9. ↑ Elder, Laura. "Fiesta atmosphere: Conoco partners with grocery chain to build stations." Houston Business Journal . Friday May 22, 1998. Retrieved on July 7, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Best of Houston® /// Shopping & Services /// 2003 Fiesta Best Grocery Store". Houston Press . Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  11. ↑ Wollam, Allison. "Grocers Supply digs deeper into Dallas market with Minyard buy." Houston Business Journal . Friday August 1, 2008. Retrieved on July 7, 2010. "Houston-based Fiesta Mart Inc., which was bought by Grocers Supply in 2004,"
  12. ↑ Howe, Aleisha. ""Fiesta parent purchasing Carnival stores from Minyard." Fort Worth Business Press. July 23, 2008. Retrieved on November 7, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Houston-based Fiesta Mart to be acquired by El Super grocery chain". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-03-27.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Contact". Fiesta Mart. Retrieved 2024-02-18. Fiesta Mart – Corporate Office 2311 Wirt Road Houston, Texas 77055
  15. ↑ "Store #08". Fiesta Mart. Retrieved 2024-02-18. 2323 Wirt Rd, Houston, TX, 77055
  16. ↑ "Boundary Map" (PDF). Spring Branch Management District . Retrieved 2024-02-18. - Compare to the addresses.
  17. ↑ "Privacy Policy Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine . Fiesta Mart. Retrieved on July 7, 2010. "Direct Mail Address: Fiesta Mart Inc. Attention: Privacy Office 5235 Katy Freeway Houston, TX 77007"
  18. ↑ "Fiesta Main Office" (PDF, JPG). Harris County Tax Office, Block Book Maps. Volume 117, Page 454. Retrieved on July 25, 2017. See the text "Cottage Grove" – See also the following pages showing the section of the "Cottage Grove" neighborhood where the Fiesta headquarters is located: 184 (JPG, PDF), 185 JPG, PDF), 186 (JPG, PDF) and 187 (JPG, PDF)
  19. ↑ "Terms and Conditions". Fiesta Mart. Archived from the original on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-02. Fiesta Mart, L.L.C. 5444 Westheimer Road, Suite 101 Houston, TX 77056
  20. ↑ Dawson, Jennifer. "99 Ranch Market hitches Asian post to Houston with first store in Texas". Houston Business Journal . October 13, 2008. Retrieved on July 15, 2011. "The store, 99 Ranch Market, will set up shop in a vacant space formerly occupied by a different kind of international grocery store — Fiesta Mart, which closed at the end of last year. 99 Ranch Market will occupy the 84,000-square-foot (7,800 m2) former Fiesta space on the northwest corner of I-10 and Blalock in the Blalock Market Shopping Center."
  21. ↑ "Boundary Map [ permanent dead link ]." Spring Branch Management District. Retrieved on December 8, 2009.
  22. ↑ Hernandez, Cathy (2021-04-28). "Fiesta Mart in east Houston damaged in Hurricane Harvey set to reopen". KPRC. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  23. ↑ Drane, Amanda; Sarnoff, Nancy (2020-07-09). "Midtown Fiesta to permanently close 'despite tremendous efforts'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  24. ↑ Sarnoff, Nancy (January 12, 2012). "Apartments to replace Montrose Fiesta". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  25. ↑ Kaplan, David. "Sugar Land area Fiesta is closing." Houston Chronicle . March 24, 2014. Retrieved on March 25, 2014.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.