Mi Rancho settles into new spot
San Mateo’s Mi Rancho Supermarket opened Feb. 3, 2018, and owner Minerva Pulido said the team has grown from the 25 employees to 50. The store recently moved into a brand-new approximately 12,000-square-foot building at 80 N. B St.
Mi Rancho Supermarket on San Mateo’s North B Street recently passed its first year in its new location across the street from its old one — and is slowly growing into its new role as mid-sized community market now that Trag’s has closed.
After 23 years in a 4,000-square-foot building across the street, the supermarket that provides products from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and other South American countries moved into a brand-new approximately 12,000-square-foot building at 80 N. B St. at the site of a vacant lot and laundromat, said supermarket owner Minerva Pulido.
“We were all very excited, but the customers were mainly excited,” she said.
The market opened Feb. 3, 2018, and Pulido said the team has grown from the 25 employees they had at the previous location to 50. Some of have been there for a long time, like Jose Mariscal.
“I’ve been working for Mi Rancho since 2005 and I remember the old store being really small,” said Mariscal. “I’ve always worked on produce and feel great working for the new store although there is a lot more work, but it’s still good.”
Down the street, construction will soon begin on a four- and five-story mixed-use building at the former Trag’s Market site at 303 Baldwin Ave. with 64 residential units, more than 60,000 square feet of office space and nearly 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at a transit-oriented, downtown location across North B Street from the downtown San Mateo Caltrain station.
Pulido said the new building made up of retail stores, office space and housing will help everyone in the community since the train station is close and convenient for customers who walk. With Trag’s closed, she also noticed a growth in their customers.
“We don’t carry some of the products that the Trag’s market provided, but we are working on upgrades and a suggestion box is available for their needs,” said Pulido.
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Her main concern with the new store location is parking. Despite adding a parking lot on the side of the new building, she said it still doesn’t accommodate customers during peak hours but is still an upgrade from having only street parking available at their previous location.
“I didn’t get to visit the old location because of parking, it is still bad but it was really hard to find parking on the street before,” said new customer Maria Galvan.
Some new features at the store include a larger taqueria and bakery. Customers wait outside the store every morning knowing that they will receive a freshly-baked Mexican bread called a bolillo, said Pulido. They also have a tortilleria, a tortilla bakery that makes a variety of tortillas such as corn and flour.
“The tortilleria was added to the new store that I think no other store in San Mateo has,” she said, “I invite people to try our chipotle and purple corn tortillas.”
To meet the needs of the Central American community, the tortilleria also provides a thicker form of tortilla specially made for the Guatemalan customer and available for everyone to try.
“I like Mi Rancho because they have a lot of varieties on produce. You can find exotic fruits from Mexico that not a lot of other grocery stores in the area have. I like that they have fresh meat, sweetbread, and my favorite tortillas made with nopal and flax seeds,” said Galvan.
As for their previous location, Pulido is thinking of renting the location to retail, but it is still undecided and working with the city.
“What is decided is that it will not become a restaurant,” she said.
Mi Rancho Supermarket is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 80 N. B St.
(1) comment
Non union, underpays under benefits its employees.
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