This week a display near the front doors of Atkinsons' Valley Market in Bellevue blossomed with tomatoes, avocados and mangos. Arrangements of Peruvian fruitcakes rested behind the produce. Situated next to the cash register, a discounted bin of Pan Crema cookies, a South American sweet, enticed last minute shoppers.
"Every store has a niche. The Hispanics seem to be our niche," said Jim Carlson, assistant manager of Atkinsons' Valley Market.
Grocery stores in Bellevue reflect the growth of the Hispanic population in Blaine County. In October 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau released population figures estimating the growth of the Hispanic population in Idaho. Blaine County had the state's second fastest growing Hispanic population, with a 37 percent growth in Hispanics estimated from July 2000 and July 2003.
Stores are a testament to the growth with shelves stocked with hot sauces, tropical juices and exotic produce.
"We find what we need here," said Christina Moya, who moved to Bellevue from Mexico nine-months ago.
Moya shopped On Tuesday, Jan. 4, at Atkinsons' Valley Market in Bellevue with her sister. The sisters chattered in Spanish as they stocked their basket with their favorite Mexican foods, including a pack of guava juice, encased in Spanish packaging.
In the last year and a half, Atkinsons' Valley Market expanded offerings to meet the demands of the Hispanic market.
"We were doing it before, but not to the extent we are doing it now," Carlson said.
The store increased the existing Mexican food section, expanded the selection of produce and added an eight-foot Peruvian section.
"The Peruvians are an important market. It's not just Mexico," Whit Atkinson, owner of Atkinsons' Valley Market, said.
During the holiday season, sales of Peruvian fruitcakes emphasized the importance of catering specifically to the store's clientele.
"Its unbelievable how many fruitcakes we sell," Atkinson remarked.
In addition to fruitcake, the Peruvian section includes merchandise like Inca Cola, a popular sweet Peruvian soda, and dried beans, items common to Peru but rarely seen in American grocery stores.
"(Hispanic customers) make suggestions, we do everything we can to find (the products)," Atkinson said.
Less than a mile from Atkinsons' Valley Market, La Amapola, a small store, carries groceries specific to Hispanic tastes. Items such as chiles, fresh tortillas, sweet breads and South American produce line the shelves.
The produce distinguishes the market with fruits and vegetables native to Mexico, El Salvador and Peru. In the back corner of the building, nopales, a vegetable from cactus branches, tunas, a fruit also from the cactus, and platanos, a fruit similar to a banana, are among several produce items rarely available in the U.S.
"They can't get these anywhere else," Richard Castillo, an employee at La Amapola, said.
Thanks to the efforts of grocers, customers find familiar flavors far from home.
"What we have done has helped, but the potential in the future is much greater judging from the population," Atkinson concluded.
Mexican sodas, spices and sauces line the shelves at Atkinsons' Valley Market in Bellevue. Photo by David N. Seelig
