Utah Latino grocery keeps growing

Jose Luiz Muñoz, an employee of the new Tenochtitlan Super Market in Midvale, stocks shelves before the store's scheduled grand opening Sept. 26. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Midvale » Adolfo Campos started stocking groceries when he was a kid at his parent's corner stores in the city of Puebla, Mexico.

Now, decades later, Campos and his wife, Ofelia, hope to expand their Utah-based grocery store chain after a dozen years in the business.

The couple is opening their third and largest Tenochtitlan store along the Wasatch Front this weekend and plan to establish two more next year.

The new Tenochtitlan Super Market sits in the Midvale Plaza Shopping Center on the southwest corner of 7200 South and State Street in Midvale.

The store is more than twice the size of their West Valley City store at 1980 W. 3500 South. The other market

This will be the first "super" Tenochtitlan but that designation isn't just about its size, Campos said. The Midvale store will cater to a diverse population by offering products from Latin America as well as the United States. He also hired bilingual employees to serve its customers who speak English and Spanish.

Campos, a 42-year-old West Jordan resident, said he's dedicated to having the area's best grocery prices, food quality and customer service because he wants Tenochtitlan "to be their neighborhood store.

"This is the house of the community," Campos said.

About 30 percent of Midvale residents are ethnic minorities, according to U.S. Census estimates.

Mayor JoAnn Seghini said after a few grocery stores closed down several years ago, residents on the city's west side have complained they don't have a neighborhood market.

Even though she said she can't pronounce its name, Seghini said she's excited to have a Tenochtitlan in Midvale, west of State Street.

"It will appeal to all citizens of the community," Seghini said. "It will certainly be an option for people who don't want to drive."

Campos always wanted to run his own company, but he and his wife indirectly found the grocery store business.

At the age of 20, while studying law at a Mexican university, Campos decided he wanted to go to southern California in late 1988. He didn't know anyone in Azusa, Calif., and began working for a health foods company, where he met Ofelia and later married her in 1993.

In 1997, the couple followed their jobs to Utah when the company moved to West Valley City.

As soon as they started grocery shopping, they realized produce was much more expensive here than in California but not as fresh. Within two months, the couple started selling produce on the streets, at swap meets and to restaurants. A relative would drive to California about three times a week to pick up the produce.

In April 1998, the Campos' opened their first Tenochtitlan, in West Valley City. They owned seven small markets statewide within five years.

In 2005, Campos said they sold five stores and retained ones in Orem and West Valley City because they wanted to invest in larger markets.

After getting the Midvale store up and running, Campos said he will finish planning for an Ogden locale to open next May and on Salt Lake City's west side in November 2010.

Still, Campos said he and his wife, who have two kids, haven't finished with their dream yet. They want Tenochtitlan to become a well-known neighborhood grocery store statewide.

"This is just the beginning," Campos said with a smile and his arms opened wide.

jsanchez@sltrib.com