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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Mexico-based grocery chain Gigante may build a large supermarket on Salt Lake City's west side, possibly to the detriment of dozens of Mexican meat markets and bakeries in the area.
Sue Stahle converted her Food World supermarket in Glendale to Supermercado de las Americas with Mexican brands and a bakery to make Mexican sweetbreads from scratch.
The change helped her survive a nearby Wal-Mart opening in 2004, but now she fears Gigante "really would take my Latino population from this neighborhood to that neighborhood up there and probably hurt everything I just did."
Gigante could anchor a 160,000-square-foot shopping center at North Temple and Redwood Road.
A California-based developer plans what he calls a Latino-themed project, possibly with restaurants, furniture, clothing and professional service shops.
The Legaspi Co. is seeking a loan and sales-tax-subsidy package from Salt Lake City. The development might not happen without the city's help.
Mayor Rocky Anderson's office is urging the City Council to approve the subsidy, which could mean less money in the form of loans for local businesses.
"I don't think it violates what we're doing at all. A development like this paves the way for more local business," said Alison McFarlane, Anderson's economic adviser, who is aiming to meet west-side demands for more retail.
She said the Legaspi project could have space for local tenants.
"Is it going to affect (locally owned business)? In some way it will affect them, but I don't know how," she said.
Mark Theodore, the attorney for a strip mall in the area, believes the proposed development could put shops out of business.
"This is a very large competitor," he says. "It's the equivalent of moving in a Wal-Mart to the area. This could, in essence, leave a number of strip malls vacant in the long run. We just don't think the Hispanic community has been consulted."
Beatrize Arce, 27, of Rose Park said she probably would go to Gigante, especially if it were one-stop shopping.
She usually shops local Mexican markets to get the freshest fruits, vegetables, meat and sweetbread. Then she goes to Wal-Mart and other neighborhood chain stores for the rest of her groceries. "It will be nice to get everything in one place," Arce, speaking in Spanish, told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Laura Hernandez of Rose Park said her decision on where to shop will be based on who has the lowest prices to feed her husband and five children.
Hernandez, who moved from Mexico 12 years ago, likes Mexican markets for the fresh-cut meat and short aisles and checkout lines.
"We need a store with lower prices -- that will get the people's attention," she said.
Jorge Fierro, owner of Rico Mexican Market & Catering, hopes Gigante will improve the locally owned Latino markets he says are poorly run.
Gigante "will bring a much higher way of doing business in the Hispanic community. It will help to clean up those (whose owners) don't pay that much attention to their business. I honestly think that, sometimes, Hispanics don't ... have a market that reflects who we are in the real world," he said.
Jesus Mejia, who owns a 3-month-old Mexican bakery and restaurant, Taqueria y Panaderia Guadalajara, said Gigante is needed in Salt Lake City.
"It won't affect me at all," Mejia said. "The clientele looks for what they want, and if they like your food, they'll continue coming to you."
But Santiago Flores, who owns two Mexican bakeries on the west side, said if Gigante builds there, "the small Latino businesses will suffer. But what can I do about those big stores? They have money. ... I can just keep working and uphold my business."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
