Meet Sonia and Carlos Mendoza, the owners of Mendoza’s Mexican Mercado. Since 2011 the dynamic husband and wife duo who have been putting in long hours to help their market come to life. Today Mendoza’s is a favorite among many locals, and known for a delicious menu that changes every day.
Get to know more about Sonia, Carlos, and Mendoza’s Mexican Mercado in this week’s Business Spotlight Q&A.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s your favorite part about the community your business is in & why?
The community is really supportive. When they (customers) leave, we say, “thank you for your support” and many of them turn back and say, “no thank you for staying open.” Many community leaders—sometimes they talk in their meetings about keeping Mendoza’s alive. We’re very very blessed and grateful of our community that come in and support us. They make us part of their weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations.
As a business owner, what’s the strangest or craziest idea you’ve ever tried?
We have this game here that we as kids used to enjoy. Getting out of school, you’d go over there (points to the checkout area with a cork board behind the counter) and you’d buy a little gum chicklet on the board over there. You’d buy one of those little gum chicklets and many of them have prizes on them, and some of them don’t. The actual joy is making somebody remember the game from when they used to come out of school. We’ve modified it a little, but customers will come in and still say “Oh the gum game! I remember that when I was little!”
Why is it important to #spenditlikeitmatters?
It’s important to support small businesses so they don’t disappear. It’s also important to support all the traditional family-oriented businesses that are unique, so they don’t disappear. As a local business, it’s complicated to survive. If we support the local businesses and “spendlikeitmatters” everybody will stay afloat.
What are some of your favorite local businesses and why?
Oh my god. Raised doughnuts! (laughs) They are awesome! That is one of my favorites. Fonda La Catrina in Georgetown too. That’s a really great place. Another is Fogrose. We went there to check it out, then we went back there for our anniversary, and it was awesome for that. Every little business that Intentionalist shows in the newsletter, Sonia will be like ‘look at this!’ We only have one day off, so we’ll end up going a second and a third time.