Hispanic market offers taste of home in Pittsburg 

By Lina Kudo

Walking among colorful and narrow shelves packed with snacks and seasonings of a Hispanic market, customers grab home-made chorizos and pork rinds amid the smell of spices. Near the meat counter, conversations in English and Spanish blend together as customers browse products that remind them of home.  

“The marinated meat or chips, candy, the sweet bread that they have, all of that is like a Mexican store for me,” said Frida Herrera, a Mexican resident of Pittsburg and regular customer of the store. “When I discovered that they exist, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is where I want to come.’”  

Fernandez Market, founded by Miguel Fernandez more than a decade ago, has grown from a small, struggling business into a community-oriented store serving people from diverse backgrounds across the region.  

From struggle to stability   

“I put everything in,” Fernandez said. “I just jumped in, I took the risk.” 

Like many small business owners, Fernandez faced challenges at the beginning. In its first years, the store struggled to stay afloat, to the point of almost having to close.  

“At first, it didn’t work,” Fernandez said. “And I put all my life savings to where I came into the negatives. I was about really close to lose the store.”  

The turning point came when his cousin gave him the advice to start selling meat products and open a carnicería in the store, giving him a cooler.  

“That’s how it all started, with that cooler,” Fernandez said. “Once I started advertising that we have carnicería, that’s how it was.”  

With the carnicería, the store gained cuts of meat that not many stores in the area offered. Fernandez said it got people in the door, and from there the business only grew.

Another important realization that Fernandez said contributed to his current success was the fact that he couldn’t focus on building his ideal store.   

“I can’t sell to myself,” he said. “I have to sell what the community wants.”  

So he began listening more closely to the community’s needs. Instead of focusing only on what he thought the store should offer, Fernandez adapted his inventory based on customer requests, which is something he keeps doing today.  

Today, Fernandez Market offers a wide variety of products, from fresh meats and homemade chorizo to international ingredients that reflect Pittsburg’s growing diversity.  

“They have a very good variety of products available,” said Laura Santacruz, a current Pittsburg resident and customer at the business. “Not just only Latin products, but everything fresh.”  

Mutual support  

Behind the store’s success is not just one person but an entire family. 

“It’s a blessing to be here,” said Herminia, Miguel Fernandez’s wife and business partner. “I think it’s allowed us to be with our family and yet kind of work with each other and see each other.”  

“It’s very challenging because we have to be here for long hours,” Herminia said. “We have to give up a lot of things at the end of the day. It’s definitely been very challenging but very rewarding.”  

Despite the demands, the store has become a place where family and work intersect. Their children often spend time at the market after school, turning the business into a shared space for both work and family life.  

For employees, the store offers what they call a positive and supportive workplace, described as relaxed and welcoming. 

“I used to be a customer … and now I work here full-time,” said Maylin Bruno, an employee at Fernandez Market. “I feel like it’s the good vibes around, like, it’s relaxed. It’s not like some other places that you can get rushed—no, you can take your time, here it’s really calm. I like the environment, the work environment.”  

One of the key challenges of the business was breaking down barriers for new customers.  

“People were just kind of scared to come in,” Herminia said. “So, we’ve been working really hard and getting people to feel like this is your store. We want to make them feel welcome.”   

Social media helps with that. The Facebook page that Herminia and Maylin Bruno now manage started as a way to officially promote the business. Later on the way, they realized that social media allows them to be not serious all the time.  

Their Facebook profile focuses on promoting real customers, real food and real ways to use their special produces, not just showing the professional side of things.  

“I think before it was the concept of, ‘okay, we have to be so serious, we have to be so professional,’ and now it’s like, ‘no, let’s just be fun,’ you know? So we change our advertisements from being so serious and so professional to ‘hey, let’s just be more realistic, more friendly, and just have fun with it.’”  

Fernandez Market’s impact extends beyond food. The business actively supports local organizations, student groups and cultural events. 

“Fernandez Market was one of the first to say, ‘I’m in, I’ll support you,’” Herrera said, referring to the store’s sponsorship of a local Hispanic music festival that started two years ago.  

The market has also contributed to student organizations by donating supplies and supporting events, reinforcing its role as a community partner. 

“We would do big events for 500 people,” Herrera said. “And when the budget is tight, they donated piñatas. They donated some candy too.”

More than a grocery store

While Fernandez Market began as a Hispanic grocery store, it has evolved into something much broader. 

“It started as a Hispanic store, and now I feel like it’s so much more than that, it’s just for anybody,” Herminia said.  

“We want you to come in and have our tacos and feel comfortable,” she added.  

Over time, the market has expanded its reach beyond their original customer base, serving not only Hispanic families but also customers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including Islanders, Asian communities and local residents.  

Today, customers travel from an hour away or even Kansas City to get some products at the store.  

Many people come especially for their home made products like their chorizos, described as “just so good” by Justin Becker, a regular customer who was passing by to get some taco night chorizos on a Friday.  

For many in Pittsburg, Fernandez Market has become more than just a place to shop. It is a space where cultures meet, traditions are preserved and community is strengthened.  

As the business continues to grow, the Fernandez Market team hopes to expand further while staying true to the values that built the store. 

“I always want to stay humble,” Fernandez said. “Work hard, be patient, be persistent.”