Jaime Pineda and family

Born: Chicago (parents are from Guerrero, Mexico)

Here: Five years in Baton Rouge, Owner of La Tiendita, Taqueria el Sol de Guerrero and Los Gallos

Why he came: Saw a need for an authentic Latin grocery store in Baton Rouge.

With $30,000 from his father, Diego, Jaime Pineda traded in the Windy City for Red Stick to open what is now one of this city’s most popular Latino grocery stores, selling authentic food products from Mexico and other Central and South American countries.

Pineda took his modest investment and leased a small suite in the non-descript shopping center on Siegen Lane, opening La Tiendita.

“In the beginning it was more like a convenience store than a grocery store,” Pineda, 25, admits. “We sold phone cards, pop, chips and candy, mostly. We started off very small. The meats and produce came much later.”

La Tiendita since has morphed into a full-fledged Mexican-style supermercado, selling everything from Mexican Coca-Cola sweetened with cane juice (read more about Mexican Coke here), to snacks and treats from Guatemala and Nicaragua. There’s a butcher case filled with various cuts of meats marinating in Latin spices and a produce section with exotic fruits and vegetables commonly used in Latin cooking.

The near instant success of La Tiendita can best be attributed to the local Hispanic population getting the word out.

“The Hispanic community is very close-knit,” explains Enrique Hurtado, a financial planner with Merrill Lynch, whose family is originally from Nicaragua. “If I stumble across a place selling rosquillas (Nicaraguan cookies), for instance, I’m going to tell everyone I know.”

Since opening five years ago the quaint grocery has not only expanded its offerings of foodstuffs, but has outgrown its original space as well. Over the years Pineda acquired more suites and now occupies most of the shopping center. Along with the grocery store there is a restaurant, Taqueria el Sol de Guerrero, which opened a year after La Tiendita. The taqueria provides that same taste of home while saving its homesick clientele the trouble of preparing the dishes themselves.

Pineda has also launched a second grocery store, La Tiendita 2, off Old Hammond Highway, and recently opened Los Gallos, also on Siegen Lane, serving up more traditional Tex-Mex variations.

Pineda made the move south from Illinois with his wife, Maribel. Shortly after witnessing the store’s early success, Pineda’s parents Diego and Reyna, both from the Mexican state of Guerrero, along with Jaime’s brother and sister, packed up and left frigid Chicago to help run things in Baton Rouge.

On any given day during the lunch rush the tiny dining room of el Sol is full of immigrant day laborers, skilled craftsmen, successful businessmen and a steady flow of Latin-loving gringos hungry for el Sol’s tacos, burritos, gorditas and tostadas. Don’t be fooled by their names made famous by certain fast-food chains—the preparation and presentation differs greatly from the Americanized Mexican dishes.

Pineda, a first-generation American citizen, just turned 25, and at such a young age he has already built a small business empire supplying the Hispanic community everything it needs to make Louisiana feel more like home.

Business is good, but Pineda admits things are not as good for all members of the Hispanic community.

Many patrons know Pineda speaks impeccable English and often call upon him to act as a translator. One recent call to assist someone involved in a car accident is just one of the many examples of prejudice he sees facing the Hispanic community.

“The officer didn’t ask if the driver was all right. He didn’t even try to figure out who was right or wrong,” Pineda says. “The first thing he asked was, ‘Do you have papers?’ That’s just not right. I understand that there are many illegals here, but there is a better way for law enforcement and border control to handle these situations.”

More than comfort food, Pineda provides a haven for the Spanish-speaking community. “We feel bad when we have to close for any reason because people see us as family,” he says. “They rely on us not just for the products and food we sell, but they come to us for advice and really see our store as a constant in their daily lives. That makes us feel pretty good.”