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Keith McCord reporting A Salt Lake man, who started a tiny Mexican market nearly a decade ago, and who has since turned it into a thriving business, will really get to show it off next week. Mexico's President Vicente Fox will drop by for breakfast.
Jorge Fierro has run his business of fresh, authentic Mexican food items for nearly 10 years in Salt Lake.
When it was announced a couple of weeks ago that the President of his native country wanted to see his operation, he was thrilled.
It's always busy for Jorge Fierro and his employees at Rico Mexican Delicatessen and Catering, located near 545 W. 700 South. There's the monthly luncheon for local community leaders and the daily delivery of hundreds of food items to several dozen grocery stores.
Jorge Fierro, Co-owner, RICO Mexican Deli & Catering: "37 of them are burritos, 14 are tamales, 10 of them are salsa, salads, enchiladas, tortillas, tortilla chips, we have like four kinds of tortillas."
All of those items are made fresh, packaged and distributed out of an 11-thousand square foot manufacturing facility in downtown Salt Lake.
Not quite a decade old, Rico Mexican Delicatessen and Catering has earned a number of accolades.
--In 2001, it was named the "Minority Small Business of the Year by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce;
--The SBA also named Fierro "Minority Businessman of the Year."
It all started with a can of beans 20 years ago. Fierro had just moved here from Chihuahua, Mexico, and he went for groceries.
Jorge Fierro, Co-owner, RICO Mexican Deli & Catering: "So I went to the supermarket and bought a can of refried beans. So I opened them up heated them up, and was completely disgusted with them! I thought this was incredible; I cannot believe that people are actually eating this product."
He knew he could do better. So, in 1997, with traditional Mexican recipes from members of his family, he started selling beans and handing out samples at the Farmer's Market at Pioneer Park.
Customers liked what he had so he eventually applied for a loan, and opened up Rico Mexican Market, on the corner of 8th South and 5th East. The store is still there.
The business has grown significantly since, providing full service catering as well as cooking classes. Revenues last year were 1.5-million dollars.
Jorge Fierro, Co-owner, RICO Mexican Deli & Catering: "I am very proud of it. The support in the community has been overwhelming."
He's honored that he'll have a chance to show his stuff to Vicente Fox on Wednesday morning. The menu is set and 80 people have been invited.
By the way, "RICO", means tasty, and he still has a booth at the Farmer's Market.
