A growing business
Nyssa store owner pleased with progress of venture

By LARRY MEYER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Monday, December 29, 2008 10:51 AM PST

Sebastian Sanchez, owner of La Morenita Market in Nyssa, stands amid products in the store. Sanchez started out small and has a growing business. ‘I am happy,’ he said.

NYSSA — It was a good Christmas for Sebastian Sanchez and his family, owners and operators of La Morenita Market, in downtown Nyssa, as the business has slowly grown and enjoyed a busy holiday.

Sanchez takes satisfaction with his store’s progress as more people have discovered it. Some of that pride is because Sanchez poured his own resources into the store’s start-up and operation.

Sanchez has lived in the Nyssa area for eight years, having come from California. After working at Beef Northwest for most of those years, Sanchez said he decided to start his business and be his own boss, commenting he had never operated a store before.

“I wanted to get my own work,” he said.

His opportunity came this year, and he opened the market near the corner of Main and Second streets, and it has now been open eight months — since March.

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“We heard comments about the need for more (ethnic) Mexican products,” Sanchez said.

It is not a big store, but Sanchez tries to offer a variety of products.

“We try to have a little of everything,” he said.

Sanchez works through local wholesalers, and most products are shipped from California.

“We built our own shelves,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez described getting started as “real hard.”

“We started very small,” he said.

He used his own money to start the business, Sanchez said, and still works without having obtained any loans.

“It’s a real challenge,” he said.

While Sanchez is starting to stock more clothes — of the everyday variety, but food is the primary part of his inventory.

He offers a variety of processed food, fresh produce and bulk products and cooking ingredients. It is a family-run operation. His wife helps, as well as some of their children.

“Most customers are Hispanic,” Sanchez said, but added the store draws people from the whole community.

“We had a lot of sales through Christmas,” he said.

La Morenita Market is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days per week.