BUSINESS FEATURE
BY LIZZY SPANGLER
DIVING INTO DON TOMATE 2 locations
Since opening its rst location in Cypress in 2020, Don Tomate Meat Market has continued to grow.
20+ vendors
The stores sell over 1,000 products from countries like Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
175 250 daily customers
1,000+ products
Countries represented by Don Tomate’s products include: Argentina Spain Brazil Venezuela
Peru
Mexico
Colombia
SOURCE: DON TOMATE MEAT MARKET COMMUNITY IMPACT
The Tomball location of Don Tomate features a bakery.
Owner Celia Hernandez opened Don Tomate Meat Market o Grant Road in Cypress in 2020.
PHOTOS BY LIZZY SPANGLER COMMUNITY IMPACT
Don Tomate Meat Market Local grocery store provides Latin American avors, products C elia Hernandez opened her grocery store Don Tomate Meat Market in February 2020 and has since expanded to a second location in Tomball last April. to homemade items—with a focus on products that hail from countries like Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Brazil. The Tomball location also features a bakery. “It’s not just a Mexican meat
Don Tomate Meat Market 17835 Grant Road, Cypress 281-783-6800
www.dontomatemarket.com Hours: Mon.-Sat. 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
nd in the store. “Then we contact our vendors, and so we go really out of our way,” Hernandez said. “Sometimes there is only one item, and the vendors don’t want to come and bring [it] ... so we personally go and pick up those items for the clients.” In terms of Don Tomate’s prod- ucts, some of the most popular items include its fajita meat and its homemade items such as tamales and tortillas, Hernandez said. “You have to place an order for [the tamales] because they do run out every day,” Hernandez said. While concrete plans are still in the works, Hernandez said she does hope to open another location. “I haven’t thought about where yet, but we’re excited,” she said.
“I lived in Cypress for a while—for about 14 years—and I saw the need for a meat market,” Hernandez said. Hernandez said she spent around two years on construction before Don Tomate’s Cypress location opened. After the Cypress location was in business for a while, Hernandez said she began to look at expanding. Now with two Don Tomate loca- tions, Hernandez said each location sees around 175-250 customers a day, with that number increasing slightly on the weekends. The grocery store sells products of all kinds—from meat and produce
market,” Hernandez said. “We have items from all over Central America and South America as well.” Hernandez said her goal is to be able to serve her customers. “It’s rewarding just seeing the cli- ents and seeing their smiles on their faces when they nd those items: ‘Oh you have this,’” Hernandez said. “It [is] a little piece of their country or their background.” Hernandez said providing these products to her customers is so important that the cashiers keep a list of products customers could not
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24026 Kuykendahl Road, Ste. 150, Tomball 281-205-1304
www.dontomatemarket.com Hours: Mon.-Sat. 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
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CY FAIR EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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