A new grocery store in Aurora, one of Colorado’s most diverse cities, is catering to the increasingly diverse Hispanic populations that are making the community their home.
Ahorra Mucho is a partnership between national discount grocery chain Save A Lot and Leevers Supermarkets. The first-of-its-kind store for the two companies opened in a 24,000-square-foot former Kmart in the La Plaza Colorado at 15200 E Colfax Ave.
The grocery chains call Ahorra Mucho — Spanish for save a lot — an “innovation center,” where services and products and food found in Mexico and throughout Central America will be tested and sold to tap into the fast-growing Hispanic populations in Colorado and across the U.S.
The concept for the store, which opened Oct. 16, has been in the works for several years.
“Leevers Supermarkets has long embraced the Hispanic community, tailoring signage and products. Ahorra Mucho is the next step in exploring how we can best meet our shoppers’ needs,” Art Perez, the company’s district manager, said in a statement.
Aurora is the ideal launchpad for the new concept because of its vibrant Hispanic community, Perez said. According to the city of Aurora, 30.1% of the 404,219 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. That compares with 23.9% for the rest of metro Denver.
“In tandem with Hispanic population growth, we’re seeing an increased demand for Hispanic food in neighborhoods all across the country,” Bill Mayo, chief operating officer at Save A Lot said in a statement.
Jorge Gonzalez, director of Ahorra Mucho and a longtime employee of Leevers, said Aurora is seeing a lot of first-generation Hispanics. When people say what they miss about their home countries, they mostly talk about family and cooking, he said.
“Hopefully we can provide the cooking,” Gonzalez.
It is a work in progress to make sure that Ahorra Mucho is stocking ingredients important to families from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Venezuela.
“We did our homework to see what items and products people needed,” store manager Robert Valero said. “We’ve got a great selection of canned goods, fresh foods and different varieties of fruits and vegetables found in Central American countries.”
Even with the homework, Gonzalez said, “We’re learning every single day.”
Shoppers have asked about products they can’t find or want to see Ahorra Mucho carry. “If we think it works, we can order it and have it for the next time they’re here. We’re not going to be able to get everything they want, but we try our best,” Gonzalez said.
Cases of cakes and pastries and shelves of bread fill the panaderia (bakery). Gonzalez said all the items are baked on site. The employees start work at 4 a.m.
Fresh meats at Ahorra Mucho in Aurora, Colorado on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The meat section features the typical fare as well as cuts and items favored in Hispanic dishes. Gonzalez said all the meat is cut by butchers at Ahorra Mucho, where customers can talk directly to the employees. Shoppers from Mexico and Central America can find many of the soft drinks, juices and salsas they’re familiar with.
The store’s 40 employees come from the community, Gonzalez said. They work for Leevers, which is 100% employee-owned and has stores in five states. The company’s corporate office is in Castle Rock.
Save a Lot is the source for many of the staples found in a typical grocery store. Several local vendors and companies supply the kinds of produce, meat, cheese and other items that people from other countries want. For instance, Colorado Ranchers Inc. in Denver makes and distributes cheese and other Hispanic food across the U.S. and imports Mexican and Central American food. Some of the company’s products were among the big blocks of cheese and imported cream in a long section of the store.
Shopper Liz Hernandez was sorting through the various cheeses as Gonzalez pointed out the various brands. She said she can’t find what she wants in the bigger groceries in her hometown of Salida.
“In Salida, there’s nothing like this, absolutely nothing. So, if you guys would open up over there, you would be a big hit,” Hernandez said.
Gonzalez said larger grocery stores carry some of the items that appeal to Ahorra Mucho’s shoppers. “But it’s not going to be a one stop. Our goal is for them to come and make it a one stop.”
Store manager Robert Valero sorts papayas at Ahorra Mucho in Aurora, Colorado on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Valero declined to compare the store’s prices to those in other stores, but he said the customers like prices at Ahorra Mucho.
As the country’s Hispanic population grows and expands its buying power, it’s important to understand and cater to the different food preferences and traditions, Gonzalez said. Grocery stories, big and small, are always fighting for the “same money, the same pocket,” he said
“This new population that is coming in, that’s new money. For us that is great because if you cater to them, they’re going to show up here.” Gonzalez said.
Hispanics made up roughly 22% of Colorado’s population in 2020, according to the state demographer’s office. The U.S. Census Bureau said Hispanics were 19.1% of the country’s total population in 2022 and the nation’s largest racial or ethnic minority.
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Gonzalez, originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, has worked for Leevers for 19 years. He started as a night stocker.
“This is a dream come true,” Gonzalez said of his job.
As for where the next Ahorra Mucho will open, he said, “We’re always looking.”
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