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Posted Jul 31, 2026, 7:23 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 1,526
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The Albuquerque Journal has a story about the new El Mezquite location on South Broadway. They say that it's scheduled to open in October. They also have an update about the new tenants that will go into the spaces not used by the grocery store. It's nothing terribly exciting, an insurance company and cell phone place. I was hoping for a dollar-type store or other kind of general merchandiser, which I recognize that others might not find exciting either.
The story also gets into the background of the owner and the chain's history and how they arrived in Albuquerque and became a success. It's actually an interesting story and nice read! I'm certainly grateful for his interest and investment in reviving this place that has always figured prominently in my life and holds many special memories for me throughout the years.
I look forward to shopping there in the future!
https://www.abqjournal.com/business/how-...ecame-an-albuquerque-institution/3091588
Quote:
Sergio Bermudez didn’t have much when he moved to Albuquerque to start a market business with his two brothers nearly 30 years ago.
“We didn’t have a house; we didn’t know anybody. I had no background experience. I didn’t (have any studies),” he said.
Yet, one year later — with one employee and a little ambition — Bermudez and his brothers, Luis and Juan, launched El Mezquite Market out of a 3,000-square-foot space in the South Valley in 1998. Now, the authentic Mexican, immigrant-led grocer has a strong and growing Albuquerque presence, with four locations throughout the city and another on the way.
It was pure happenstance that Bermudez and his brothers ended up in Albuquerque at all.
Originally from Sonora, Mexico, they immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s, landing in Arizona. Bermudez was working in construction when one day he and his brothers visited a mini market their cousins owned in southern Phoenix and noticed people lining up to enter the store.
The brothers had a light-bulb moment and thought to themselves, “We should do something like that; this is a great business,” Bermudez recalled.
With a little help from their cousins, the brothers saved enough money to start the business. All that was left to decide was where they would to plant it. Phoenix was already full of mini markets, so they decided to try out Tucson. It wasn’t a match, Bermudez said, prompting a return to a map.
“We say, ‘Well, Albuquerque. I don’t know what’s in Albuquerque but let’s go to Albuquerque,’” Bermudez said. “Just flipping a coin — that’s basically what it was.”
Launching El Mezquite Market came with several learning curves, Bermudez said. He and his brothers got to know the business by tapping into resources offered by the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce — but feedback from customers was their greatest source of education and growth.
“People come and used to say, ‘I wish you can sell more product, I will buy more here. I wish you would sell menudo and carnitas on the weekends,’” Bermudez recalled. “You keep listening and once you listen to the people, you don’t stop growing.”
El Mezquite Market locations now house several departments, including a produce section; a bakery that makes fresh pastries and goods every day; a butcher and deli; a liquor section; a kitchen that serves everything from ready-to-eat barbacoa tacos to seafood; and money services that allow customers to send money to other countries.
With bone-in pork cubes for posole and boneless chuck roll — beef taken from the shoulder and neck area — as well as mango suckers and pecan-flavored toffee, Bermudez said the stores’ meat department and candy aisle feature some of El Mezquite’s most popular offerings.
“That’s the only way we can be alive and do business: being different,” Bermudez said. The business’ emphasis on quality and lower prices also set El Mezquite apart in an economic climate currently marked by more selective consumers, he said.
For customer Meredith Chino, El Mezquite’s frequent deals are enough to keep her driving more than 45 miles from Laguna to patronize the store about once or twice a month.
“They have the good deals that give people more to buy with less money, instead of more money and less product,” Chino said while shopping at the 98th Street store on Monday. “I think places like this are very important.”
A growing presence
El Mezquite’s Albuquerque footprint stretches across the city, with stores on Isleta Boulevard, Fourth Street, San Pedro Drive and 98th Street. The Bermudez brothers also own a store in Los Lunas and at one time had a Santa Fe location before later selling it.
The newest location is situated near the Barelas neighborhood at 1306 Broadway SE. The Bermudez family acquired the site’s existing structure — which formerly housed Stadium Liquors, a First Choice Community Healthcare clinic and Sol Supermarket — in 2024.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Bermudez, who noted it took a decade to convince the property owners to sell him the building. But he was determined. “I like this location. Why? Because this is a food desert. People got a lot of needs to meet, and I saw that after just a few years living here.”
Built in 1963, the property in recent years was primarily a shell largely in need of a remodel. Construction work began last year, bringing all-new electrical and plumbing, a roof and exterior facade.
“Everything,” Bermudez said. “(We) just keep the walls; that’s all.”
Construction crews even added new, additional freezer spaces to the property, bringing the market’s total square footage to 21,000 square feet. That doesn’t include the former liquor store and clinic spaces, which Bermudez said will welcome a Cricket Wireless and Fred Loya Insurance.
As of Monday, the project was making progress but awaiting electricity from PNM. The parking lot also has to be repaved. Permitting delays have been a challenge for the project, Bermudez said, but he’s now hopeful the store will open by October.
“(I’m feeling) excitement and relief,” Bermudez said. “It’s been a hassle.”
The store is expected to hire roughly 55 people, adding to El Mezquite’s pool of nearly 300 employees. Labor has been one of the market’s recent challenges, forcing the Bermudez brothers to start exploring how artificial intelligence can alleviate staffing shortages. But the company’s employees — some of whom have been with the local chain for 25 years — are also the greatest reward, Bermudez said.
Another reward, he added, is seeing people from across the country visit the stores, catch a glimpse of the piñatas hanging from the ceiling and start to question where they are.
“It’s just fun to see how they get excited because they never see stuff like that,” Bermudez said. “They think they’re in Juarez, Mexico.”
The Consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque praised Bermudez for the unique cultural experience that’s been built at El Mezquite and what the market means to the local business community.
"Sergio’s story is inspiring, but what stands out most is his commitment to helping others succeed,” Consul Patricia Pinzón said.
A motivator for Bermudez is family. He hopes to pass the torch to the generation under him someday. But with El Mezquite’s fifth store — and likely last, for now — nearing completion, Bermudez said retirement feels far away at the moment.
“I mean, look,” Bermudez said as he pointed to his bald head. “I lose my hair. I used to have long hair, believe me.”
But Bermudez said the hard work has been worth it — something he hopes other local Latino entrepreneurs can take inspiration from.
“Don’t be afraid,” Bermudez said. “Everybody’s got dreams, and sometimes we don’t follow our dreams. We say it’s going to be too hard. We don’t believe in ourselves. Just believe in yourself. You deserve it like everybody else.”
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