Carnicería Supermarket El Forastero has opened at the corner of North First Street and Townsend Avenue, offering fresh meat cuts, hot prepared meals and a wide selection of Latin American grocery items, according to the owners.
The business, which opened March 28, is operated by husband-and-wife team Victor and Marile Segura. The market combines a traditional Mexican-style carnicería with grocery products from Mexico as well as Central American countries including El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Victor Segura, who also operates a construction business, has long been interested in entrepreneurship and previously launched a taco truck before pursuing the idea of opening a brick-and-mortar market, Marile Segura said.
“My husband is the one always looking into businesses,” Segura said. “He likes to invest and try different things.”
Segura previously operated a house-cleaning business in Telluride while raising the couple’s children. The two, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, have lived in Montrose for years — Victor since 2003 and Marile since 2009.
“Everyone from Oaxaca, it’s like here,” Segura said. “A lot of people from the same town are here.”
The market was developed over roughly six months, beginning late last year. The building, formerly occupied by Hartman Brothers, required extensive remodeling to accommodate a meat market, including installation of a kitchen hood as well as plumbing and electrical upgrades, Segura said.
Carnicería Supermarket El Forastero offers a variety of traditional Mexican meat cuts, including arrachera and marinated meats, as well as pork, shrimp, fish and beef head commonly used for tacos. The store also prepares fresh tortillas, carnitas, chicharrón and pan dulce baked on site.
The business employs about six people, including a baker with decades of experience working in bakeries and meat markets in Mexico, along with cooks from several Mexican states including Guanajuato, Nayarit and Zacatecas.
In addition to meat and grocery items, the market serves prepared hot meals designed to give customers convenient ready-to-eat options. Earlier this week, the daily special included carnitas served with rice and beans. Other offerings may include dishes such as discada, a mixture of beef, bacon, chorizo and vegetables.
Segura said the goal is to provide ingredients and foods that reflect the diversity of the local community and give customers access to products they may not easily find elsewhere.
“We want to have something from people’s country so they can feel like they have something from home,” she said.
Customer response has been positive as residents continue to discover the new business, Segura said.
“We’re still getting people that say it’s my first time here, I didn’t know you were open,” she said. “They like it. They’re happy there’s a place like this.”
Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.
