With Leflore County's Hispanic population growing, area stores are making progress at meeting their needs.
The latest effort is the new San Miguel Archangel Mexican Grocery Store at 522 B W. Park Ave.
Serafin Simon, store manager, and his father, Reynaldo Simon, owner, opened the store March 27. It's conveniently located behind Greenwood's only authentic Mexican restaurant, La Pinata.
Serafin and his father used to visit friends in Greenwood and learned of the need for a real Mexican store. Serafin also owns a Mexican store in West Helena, Ark. It opened in September.
"I want to thank my family for everything they give me - my mother, father, brothers and sisters and my wife and little son," Serafin said.
The number of customers patronizing the store has been more than Serafin had expected. "We have had a very good reception from the Mexican and American community.
"They say it's very good to have one here in town, and they're happy about this one right here in the center of town," he said.
Serafin also is happy that the business is the first Mexican specialty store to open in Greenwood.
The mini grocery carries Mexican pastries and specialties of fresh cactus, as well as Mexican drinks, jarritos, Mexican chips and cooking supplies.
But the store is not limited to food. San Miguel carries a large assortment of piñatas, baseball caps, soccer uniforms and soccer balls.
"The guys who come to work here look for their favorite team in Mexico," Serafin said. "That's rare to find these types of jerseys around here, especially for little kids."
The groceries and supplies for San Miguel Archangel come from different places - some from California, Chicago or Mexico.
The labels are in both American and Spanish, Serafin said. "It has the translation on the package, or it should anyway."
As for items the store doesn't carry, Serafin said he will take suggestions and orders for special items. "If they let us know, we will try to get it as soon as possible."
Serafin said he doesn't have plans to expand at this point, but he will "see how everything goes. Just give it time."
Juanita Barbosa, a migrant English language learner/tutor for the Leflore County School District, says she has noticed area stores doing more to serve the growing Hispanic population.
"Within the past year and a half, I've noticed grocery stores have more ethnic food supplies for the Spanish and Mexican people, and they have Asian food in stock," she said.
Barbosa and her family have lived in Greenwood for about 45 years.
She said the grocery needs are being met, but she says there is a greater need at this point. Translators are desperately needed for those who don't yet speak English.
However, demand for special kinds of clothing is not a problem, Barbosa said. "Most people have become Americanized. Latinos dress more like here in America."
Barbosa said she hadn't yet visited the new Mexican store in Greenwood, but she is glad to hear it carries the Mexican soccer jerseys that are so popular among young men.
"They're into that more than any other sport," Barbosa said. She compared the soccer craze to football in America.
Barbosa has visited the Mexican stores in Itta Bena and Indianola.
The Itta Bena store is called "Latienda," which means "the store."
Indianola's store is called "Mexico."
These merchants carry a variety of fresh spices and herbs, such as garlic, cominos and aniz, that are not found in regular stores. There's also mole, which is a spicy Mexican sauce, as well as a variety of peppers, black beans and pinto beans.
Barbosa said the stores are trying to respond to the customers.
"They've even brought in the Mexican white cheese, queso blanco. They love that. Sav-A-Lot has stocked up on different cheeses from Mexico," Barbosa said.
Stores around this area are even carrying the Mexican sausage, chorizo, she said. "My mother used to make it before we got an influx of Mexican people," she said.
"Sav-A-Lot has stocked a lot of bulk food," she said. She also has noticed a difference in other stores, such as Greenwood Market Place and Big Star.
Pete LaRussa, manager of the U.S. 82 Big Star, said his store is about to increase the amount of floor space devoted to Mexican food due to the increased demand by customers.
At this point, there are a number of shelves of Aisle 6 in the store that are dedicated to Mexican products.
LaRussa said he gets requests from customers all the time for specific items and works quickly to get them in the store.
The produce section carries jalapeños and other peppers and green chilies that are used in Mexican dishes, he said.
The meat department also carries a variety of flour and corn tortillas.
"We carry individual packages now, but we're going to start carrying them in bulk," LaRussa said.
"Now if we have a package that's 100 count, they'll buy it.
"Since we've added the Mexican aisle, it's not just Hispanics who are buying it. Now everybody is getting on the bandwagon," he said.
"We have limited space. If we had more space, we could do better," LaRussa said, "but we try to keep up with the demand."
Greenwood Market Place has set aside 32 feet of floor space for a specialty section with Mexican food products. Plus, there are Mexican items in other areas of the store.
Store Manager Derrick Simpson said this area has been an ongoing project for the past two years as the request for Mexican products and the store's clientele have grown.
"There is a very large need in our area, and we're doing what we can do to accommodate the clientele," he said.
"We have at least over 500 Hispanic items in the store," Simpson said.
Market Place carries a large variety of tortillas, as well as a large number of not-so-familiar products. such as "Green Mole." Mexican candles are also found in the specialty section, as well as low-carb tortillas.
Goya and Gamesa are popular Mexican brands that can be found on the store's shelves, he said.
Simpson said the store is willing to try and find any item a customer might want. "We have different suppliers we deal with who have been very, very helpful."
