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Mi Pueblo opens to throngs of patrons
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By Paul Jones
Marinscope Newspapers
After over a year of development, Mi Pueblo, a Hispanic-themed grocery store, opened in the Canal neighborhood March 17. The store is located at the former site of Circuit City, which closed over a year ago. Mi Pueblo has been eagerly anticipated by members of the Canal community, as it will serve as the area’s first “full-service” grocery store, and is also a major employer in the down economy, recently hiring around 175 mostly local employees. The store is one of several being opened by the company this year.
In September, the then-incomplete store saw an outpouring of support from community members when its license to sell alcohol and the size of its deli were challenged by the Marin Institute and Picante restaurant. Their appeals were voted down by the council at a meeting attended by numerous Canal residents voicing support for Mi Pueblo. Mi Pueblo spokeswoman Perla Rodriguez said the store had received similar enthusiasm from the community upon its opening this month.
“We opened the store on Wednesday, a quiet opening to test things out, and at 6 a.m. we already had customers knocking on the doors, waiting to see when we were opening,” Rodriguez said. “By closing hours we were filled with beautiful families from the community, welcoming us to the Canal, and it was a wonderful experience. The response we’ve gotten has been tremendous.”
Rodriguez said the store received over 12,000 transactions in its first two days.
On March 19, city leaders attended an official opening. Mayor Al Boro spoke to a crowd of city staff and various community leaders.
“I think in opening this store you’re providing a great service to the community,” Boro said. “People can come here to shop and enjoy themselves, and at the same time be part of the overall transformation of this area and community of San Rafael.”
Boro also praised the store for its treatment of employees. Owner Juvenal Chavez, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the mid-1980s and began Mi Pueblo as a 4,000-square-foot butcher shop in San Jose in 1991, said his store would cultivate strong ties to the Canal neighborhood’s residents.
“At Mi Pueblo, we want to make you feel at home,” Chavez said. “We get hundreds of e-mails from various locations asking us to come to new places. We employ from within the community, we invest a lot in teaching and training our team, and we invest in our families. There has to be a relationship to people, the customers, and we create loyalty with people.”
Assistant City Manager Jim Schutz said the store would fill an important economic niche in the community, and could draw more commerce to the Canal neighborhood.
“The community has been waiting for a full-service grocery store in this area for quite some time,” Schutz said. “Mi Pueblo has shown a great deal of success in other locations. I’m familiar with the San Jose location from working there, and it really helped revitalize that whole area. We hope that vitality will come to this area; we’re looking for that spark.”
An official ribbon-cutting was held at a crowded event March 20, with throngs of people surrounding the store and little parking left in the nearby area. Boro and other City Council members returned, and Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams also attended.
In September, the then-incomplete store saw an outpouring of support from community members when its license to sell alcohol and the size of its deli were challenged by the Marin Institute and Picante restaurant. Their appeals were voted down by the council at a meeting attended by numerous Canal residents voicing support for Mi Pueblo. Mi Pueblo spokeswoman Perla Rodriguez said the store had received similar enthusiasm from the community upon its opening this month.
“We opened the store on Wednesday, a quiet opening to test things out, and at 6 a.m. we already had customers knocking on the doors, waiting to see when we were opening,” Rodriguez said. “By closing hours we were filled with beautiful families from the community, welcoming us to the Canal, and it was a wonderful experience. The response we’ve gotten has been tremendous.”
Rodriguez said the store received over 12,000 transactions in its first two days.
On March 19, city leaders attended an official opening. Mayor Al Boro spoke to a crowd of city staff and various community leaders.
“I think in opening this store you’re providing a great service to the community,” Boro said. “People can come here to shop and enjoy themselves, and at the same time be part of the overall transformation of this area and community of San Rafael.”
Boro also praised the store for its treatment of employees. Owner Juvenal Chavez, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the mid-1980s and began Mi Pueblo as a 4,000-square-foot butcher shop in San Jose in 1991, said his store would cultivate strong ties to the Canal neighborhood’s residents.
“At Mi Pueblo, we want to make you feel at home,” Chavez said. “We get hundreds of e-mails from various locations asking us to come to new places. We employ from within the community, we invest a lot in teaching and training our team, and we invest in our families. There has to be a relationship to people, the customers, and we create loyalty with people.”
Assistant City Manager Jim Schutz said the store would fill an important economic niche in the community, and could draw more commerce to the Canal neighborhood.
“The community has been waiting for a full-service grocery store in this area for quite some time,” Schutz said. “Mi Pueblo has shown a great deal of success in other locations. I’m familiar with the San Jose location from working there, and it really helped revitalize that whole area. We hope that vitality will come to this area; we’re looking for that spark.”
An official ribbon-cutting was held at a crowded event March 20, with throngs of people surrounding the store and little parking left in the nearby area. Boro and other City Council members returned, and Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams also attended.
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