Business
Super Ley's
By John Fleming
Sep 7, 2003, 16:31

Super Ley's

by John Fleming

The age of the supermarket has come to Puerto Peñasco. We visited the new Super Ley's on Avenida Constitución recently and saw it for ourselves. Ley's is a giant store--the manager told us it's 2,000 sq. meters; that's 22,000 sq. ft. Everything is new and bright and attractive. Besides all the usual items a grocery store carries, this one has a soda fountain inside the front door and a tabaqueria (a smoke shop) behind that. On the other side is a large delicatessen. Besides a counter for sliced meats and cheeses, there are a series of containers of various delicacies--salsas, molé, gelatin salads, macaroni salads, relishes, pickles. Behind the deli is a bakery where all kinds of delicious breadstuffs are made and sold--tortillas, of course, and doughnuts, and freshly baked cakes, bread, muffins, rolls, and cookies--everything to satisfy both Mexican and American tastes. It's a Mexican Safeway. And, as we learned, Ley's is affiliated with Safeway.

There were a couple of surprises. One entire counter on both sides was devoted to yogurt--plain, flavored, fruited, all kinds. And we didn't even know Mexicans ate yogurt. Also we tried to buy some tea to make iced tea. There was a wide range of different teas--hierbabuena (good herbs), cinnamon, lemon, jasmine, camomile, one called boldo that we didn't recognize--everything except just plain tea. Apparently iced tea is not a part of Mexican cuisine.

When I lived in New York, we did all our shopping at small corner stores. The range of goods available was very limited, and the costs were high. And they were very low-tech. The clerk would add up your prices in pencil on a paper bag and tell you the result. But there were advantages. If you were short on money, some stores would carry you until the next payday. I don't know if Mexican have been willing to extend credit, but in other ways the small corner stores are just like the ones I used to know. Most of them have been what we call Mom and Pop operations.

Now the consumer has choices. Ley's has a wide range of goods available. Soon other megamarkets will enter the competition, and the customers will benefit--more choices and competitive pricing. Americans, who may have been reluctant to shop at the small stores, will patronize these large markets because they feel at home there.

There have been two turning points in the economic development of Puerto Peñasco. One was the building of Plaza las Glorias in 1994. The second is Ley's.