HISTORY McKinney resident set to transform city’s east side convenience store
BY MIRANDA JAIMES
sell and do drugs. Some of the store’s only food items had expired or were full of preservatives. Commonly known as Rodriguez, the building has been around since 1952, Hernandez said. It was the place where people came to see and be seen. “This is one of the last neighborhood stores in McKinney,” he said. “This has always been considered the heart of the east side. It just needs a bypass.” People who live on the east side have a hard time accessing fresh fruits and vegetables, he said. This store will ll that gap when it reopens this fall. Going forward, Rodriguez will be known as La Tiendita. Hernandez’s plans not only include upgrading the store’s interior and cleaning out the shelves, but also transforming the landscape of the store. He wants to have a gravel driveway, a white picket fence, gazebos and features that will make the store an attractive place and somewhere the students at Webb Elementary School across the street can feel comfortable walking to. “This is going to be a safe place ... if they want to come here,” he said. To that end, Leo Yruegas with North Texas Palms & Pottery in McKinney is donating his e orts to help make the landscaping at the store attractive. “This project ... hits home as a parent of a son who lost his life to drug abuse,” Yruegas said. “Having a plat- form to ... create a better environment for others to succeed is a blessing.” Those interested in partnering with Hernandez can email him at jason@ atlastmckinney.org or donate directly to the store’s Go Fund Me.
Construction has begun on a project that will transform a historic conve- nience store on McKinney’s east side into a place with healthy food options. In June 1992, McKinney resident Jason Hernandez stood in front of the store at the southeast corner of Greenville and Murray streets, and sold his rst dime bag of marijuana. In 1998 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for distributing drugs and served 18 years in prison before President Barack Obama granted his request for clemency. Now a free man, Hernandez is back on the same street corner as the owner of the convenience store, e ective this spring. And he has big plans for it. He wants to rename the store to La Tiendita and have it supply the neigh- borhood with fruits and vegetables instead of drugs. “I just want to do some good in the ‘hood,” he said. Hernandez is leasing the store with a grant from the Marguerite Casey Foundation, which funds local e orts to help their communities. “We are trying to buy the lot once we get more money, so if people just want to help out, whether it’s volunteering, donating, little things that need replaced ... this is something that is going to be very impactful and special for this community,” he said. He is also looking for partnerships, particularly with a grocery store, that can help supply him with what he needs to help the store operate. Before the store closed in June, items were sold that could be used to
The historic store, commonly known as Rodriguez, will be transformed into a grocery store where fresh food will be available.
MIRANDA JAIMES COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Jason Hernandez is the new owner of the Rodriguez convenience store. COURTESY 7 TWENTY NINE PHOTOGRAPHY
The shelves of the store will be cleared as it becomes a grocery store.
MIRANDA JAIMES COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
La Tiendita 902 Greenville St. Currently closed for renovations
GREENVILLE ST.
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Jeffrey A. Snyders, CFP®, CDFA®, CRPC® Senior Vice President Senior Financial Advisor 972.369.1945 or jeffrey_a_snyders@ml.com Jeffrey A Snyders, CFP®, CDFA®, CRPC® Senior Vice President Senior Financial Advisor Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 6950 TPC Drive Ste 200 McKinney, TX 75070 Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 6950 TPC Drive Ste 200 McKinney, TX 75070 Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 6950 TPC Drive Ste 200 McKinney, TX 75070 972.369.1945, jeffrey_a_snyders@ml.com Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 6950 TPC Drive Ste 200 McKinney, TX 75070 Jeffrey A. Snyders, CFP®, CDFA®, CRPC® Senior Vice President Senior Financial Advisor 972.369.1945 or jeffrey_a_snyders@ml.com Jeffrey A Snyders, CFP®, CDFA®, CRPC® Senior Vice President Senior Financial Advisor 972.369.1945, jeffrey_a_snyders@ml.com Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 6950 TPC Drive Ste 200 McKinney, TX 75070
Jeffrey A. Snyders, CFP®, CDFA®, CRPC® Senior Vice President Senior Financial Advisor 972.369.1945 or jeffrey_a_snyders@ml.com
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