HISPANIC MARKET NOW OPEN ALONG HIGHWAY 81
JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER
Families living in the Freeman area who want a more extensive selection of traditional Spanish foods no longer have to make a trip to one of the larger cities in the area to find it. A new store on the southeast corner of town, in the back room of a building that has long been a restaurant, is now open with the growing Hispanic population in mind.
Since Sunday, Aug. 30, Tienda CentroAmerica has been operating in the north room of what was most recently The Chislic House. Owned by Irma Siyes and her husband, Marcos, the specialty store features a wide selection of pantry items like sauces, tortillas, rice, beans, chips, candy and drinks, as well as refrigerated and frozen items like vegetables and tamales. The store is accessible through the door on the north side of the building and is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Irma and Marcos, who have lived in Parker the last 10 years after Marcos took a job at a dairy in the area, say the need for a Hispanic general store is what drove them to open Tienda CentroAmerica, even though they had no previous experience in retail.
“There are a lot of Spanish people (living here) and they talk about it; the items and the product they want, they need to go to Sioux Falls and Sioux City to get them,” said Irma, who operates and manages the store. “That’s a long day and very hard. So we opened a new Spanish store for them and for us. They are very happy.”
Irma was put in touch with Carol Eisenbeis, the marketing and development director with the city of Freeman, who pointed her in the right direction to get the ball rolling. Eisenbeis said Irma contacted her in late May and the two communicated primarily by email using Google Translator.
“My role was to serve as a facilitator and connect her with resources to help her navigate the process,” said Eisenbeis. She put Irma in touch with the Small Business Development Center in Yankton, which eventually connected Irma with Que Pasa in Sioux Falls, a non-profit organization that works to empower Latinos in various ways.
“Those volunteers were able to work with her and advocate for her,” Eisenbeis said.
The Siyeses, who have an eight-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son, are leasing the building from owners Will and Sherilyn Ortman and also hope to open a Mexican restaurant in the main area of the building next month. Irma said the restaurant will feature foods that are traditional in Mexico and Central American countries including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
