Interview: Thanks To Perseverance, Mi Lindo Puebla Grocery Store & Taqueria is Thriving
“The sun comes out for everyone,” Amparito Flores, the owner and founder of Mi Lindo Puebla, a grocery store and taqueria located in Newsport News Virginia, tells us with a smile. It’s this positive attitude, coupled with a mind for business, and a family-centered philosophy, that has helped Amparito achieve goals that most only dream of.
Amparito was born in the small town of San Miguel de Minas, located in the state of Puebla, Mexico, a half-hour away from the city of Izucar de Matamoros. In 1984, pregnant, and wanting more economic stability for their growing family, Amparito and her husband Domingo, made the difficult decision that he would go to the United States to find work while Amparito gave birth to their first child in Mexico. Beginning his career in California, in the fields of avocado and orange farms, Domingo worked his way up until he achieved the position of manager. At this point, it was 1986, and Amparito joined Domingo in California for several months before they realized it would be impossible to raise their children in the US without increasing their income further, and she returned to Mexico to give birth to their second child. Visiting each other whenever possible, Amparito and Domingo continued to balance their relationship between Mexico and the United States, growing their family to four children, until finally, in 1994, their finances had grown enough for Amparito to join Domingo in the United States permanently.
But just as Amparito and their children arrived, Domingo, who had become highly successful in his career, was let go from his job. With four children, and their world turned upside down, the young family joined Domingo’s brother and his family in Newport News Virginia. Going from West to East coast, they started over once again. Learning a new trade, Domingo began helping his brother as a scallop fisherman, slowly re-gaining financial stability for their family. After several years of hard work, in an entirely new part of the world, Domingo had achieved a new level of success. At this point, knowing that Amparito herself had a mind for business, Domingo gave her $10,000 and said, “take this money and multiply it.”
With the confidence of her family, Amparito started her own entrepreneurial journey in 2011, when she purchased a failing grocery store, determined to create her own success. Her daughter Irma helped in purchasing the store, and now, with the store in their name, Amparito got to work. In its first days, Mi Lindo Puebla was bringing in $20 to $30 a day, not nearly enough to cover costs or return the initial investment.
According to Amparito, “We had to persevere and never throw in the towel.”
She asked her customers what she needed to do to get more business from the community. When they told her that the store didn’t have enough product variety and needed higher quality items, she listened. Amparito filled the shelves with tortillas, beans, juices, sodas, cheeses, and dried chiles that the previous store owner hadn’t sold.
“The day we achieved $120 sold in one day, we went to celebrate!” Amparito shares with us.
With incremental amounts of success, the store began to turn a profit, resulting in the eventual decision in 2017 to open a taqueria. The taqueria was met with much appreciation from Amparito’s clientele and became an instant success, with some customer’s even begging for a second taqueria. Today, the store is highly profitable, with Amparito’s eldest daughter Rocio and nineteen-year-old grandson Kevin helping run its daily operations. During the pandemic, the store shut down for two weeks, but after investing in the necessary safety protocols, the store re-opened, although they were forced to cut down store hours in-line with local government regulations. Recently, in July of 2021, the store began to once again stay open until its post-pandemic closing time of 7pm and has been achieving the same if not greater weekly sales than prior years.
In closing, Amparito shares, “I started with a dream that I had no idea how to achieve. Thank God and this country for allowing both men and women alike to achieve their goals. I’d like to also thank our customers who have always been so good to us and Diaz Foods who without fail have been serving me throughout the years. While God gives me life, I will continue to work hard.”
Mi Lindo Puebla
10021 Jefferson Avenue
Newport News, VA, 23605
(757) 594-0116
https://www.facebook.com/MiLindoPuebla/