VALLEJO – Two dense blocks of central Vallejo sport an array of businesses run by immigrant families, where you can find delicious Mexican food, sweets, imported gifts and bridal wear in a neighborhood that has long been dubbed “Little Mexico.”
According to María Teresa Sanchez, co-owner of Bere’s Bridal, it was the late Maria Guevara, the founder of the nonprofit organization Vallejo Together, who came up with the name Little Mexico for the section of Broadway between Nebraska and Tennessee streets.
Around 10 years ago, Guevara went business by business encouraging the owners to adopt the name and finance banners that would display it. She managed to get support from the city and marked the christening of Little Mexico with a block party. Banners were attached to the lamp posts bordering the sidewalks.
The wind has since blown the banners away, but the name Little Mexico has survived.
What makes this area really special is that the businesses are all family-run by people who live in Vallejo and bring authentic Mexican traditions to the city.
Married couple Ubaldo and Marisa Alcazar opened La Michoacana Vallejo at 504 Broadway in 2006, after a difficult year waiting for the city to approve the permits and do all the inspections.
La Michoacana Vallejo is a paletería (ice cream and popsicle shop) and a cake shop/bakery. “Everything we offer we produce right here, and we bake daily,” said Marisa Alcazar. “Everything is done the traditional way, with truly natural products: flour, eggs, butter. And our bakers are excellent.”
“Even the meat for the tortas we cook here,” added Ubaldo Alcazar.
They offer between 30 and 35 flavors of paletas and 28 ice cream flavors, which vary throughout the year, because they only use fresh fruit. Their clientele is diverse and their tres leches cake is one of their best sellers.
Popsicles and pastries for sale in La Michoacana Vallejo. Photos: Isidra Mencos.
The business has grown steadily to 21 employees. Its success speaks to the quality of its products. From the melt-in-your mouth alfajores (a Peruvian treat) and the tasty pan dulce to the moist tres leches cakes, or delicious paletas and ice creams, they have the perfect treat for any sweet tooth.
“I feel very proud to hear that people recognize La Michoacana,” said Marisa Alcazar. “They know the team who works here, they talk about the business as something positive for the community, a family place where people can come and find products they know and love.”
Like any business, La Michoacana Vallejo has faced challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic was one of them. Although they remained open because they sell essential products like bread and milk, they could only allow two or three people in the store at a time. Inflation also impacted them greatly, especially the extreme price rise of pandemic-related products such as sanitizers, gloves and masks.
Fortunately they were able to weather the storm and keep all their employees on the payroll.
Now they face different challenges. One of them is the opening of another bakery in Vallejo with the same name, which confuses their clients, who think they have expanded. Ubaldo Alcazar is quick to point out that La Michoacana Plus is part of a chain, not an artisanal family business like theirs. To differentiate themselves they have changed their store’s name to La Michoacana Vallejo (before it was only La Michoacana).
The care and pride that the Alcazars place on their products, their employees, and their links with the community, however, will surely carry them through this and any other challenges. “Our biggest satisfaction,” said Ubaldo Alcazar, “is that people leave the store happy with what we do.”
On the other corner of the same block is Bere’s Bridal at 530 Broadway. If you need an outfit for a wedding, quinceañera, baptism or first communion, this is your one-stop shop. They also rent tuxedos and sell accessories, from fancy shoes to tiaras.
Sisters Maria Teresa Sanchez and Carmen Sandoval opened the business in 1998. They started in a smaller location three doors down as a flower shop. When the business didn’t take off, they added girls’ dresses. Little by little they expanded to clothes for all festivities. Their most popular products are the lavish quinceañera dresses, which range from $299 for dresses on sale to $2,500.
With 25 years in business under their belt, the sisters have served several generations of the same family. “First comes the mother for her wedding dress,” said Sanchez. “Years later she comes for the quinceañera dress for her daughter, and later still, she comes to buy outfits for her grandchildren.”
The business has expanded purely through word of mouth. Bere’s Bridal gets clients from as far as Monterrey, Napa, Oakland and all over Solano County. “We have clients from Redding, which is three hours away,” Sanchez said. “Yesterday I had a lady that came from Stockton.”.
Inflation has been challenging, as people have less money to spend, but Bere’s Bridal keeps going strong.
The oldest business in Little Mexico is La Tapatía Market Vallejo. It was founded by brothers Ismael and Ignacio Magallanes in the early 1980s in a strip mall on Sonoma Boulevard. The brothers moved it to its current location at 601 Broadway in 1996.
Julian Magallanes, Ismael’s son, said that the fresh meat is very popular — people buy it to make carne asada for their parties — but La Tapatía offers much more. Aside from all the regular grocery store products, they have a kitchen and dining area, so you can buy homemade Mexican dishes and eat them in the store.
They also house a financial center. “You can exchange checks, pay bills, and send money to other countries,” said the younger Magallanes.
In need of some delicious appetizers? La Tapatía has you covered. Containers of freshly made ceviche, guacamole and salsa line up their fridge and they sell at affordable prices, like $5.99 for a pound of guacamole.
So now you might have picked up meat and dessert for a party, and perhaps even a festive gown. What about gifts? You can find them at Artesanía Tonala at 529 Broadway.
Owner Benjamin Arechiga sold Mexican candy at various flea markets for 24 years. In 2019, two months before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, he and his wife decided to open a store and expand to all kinds of traditional Mexican products, from boots, hats and embroidered dresses to ceramics and huaraches (Mexican sandals).
They were forced to close for three months while still paying rent, and without receiving a dime in help. Still, they kept going.
A month and a half ago, Arechiga expanded the store, taking over another shop next door. After demolishing three walls, the two locales look like one, and allow him to accommodate more merchandise. “I would like to have a little bit of everything,” said Arechiga, “so when people come here, they find what they are looking for.”
To that end, he has added other products, such as clothes for construction and work boots. Flower arrangements sell very well during special dates like Feb. 14 or Mother’s Day. “One of my aunts designs beautiful bouquets,” said Arechiga, “and people are finding out little by little.”
The store really has a little bit of everything, so if you are pining for a vaquero hat, a beautiful huipil (embroidered blouse), or a ceramic cooking pot, you can find it here.
Little Mexico has several more family-run stores, such as Solorios Insurance, a naturist pharmacy, and a restaurant specialized in carnitas. What’s missing is the banners displaying the name Little Mexico. Perhaps one day they will fly proudly again.
Editor's note: The interviews were conducted in Spanish and translated into English.
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