FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — A market opened in the Oxford neighborhood is looking to make food staples more accessible for the community.
The SMS Oxford Market located at 3422 Robinwood Dr. opened shop near the end of 2020. They sell classic convenience store staples like soda and chips but also sell a variety of staple ingredients for Latin cooking.
The owners immigrated to America from Mexico and raised their children on the southeast side of Fort Wayne. Their daughter, Roselee Soto, said it was her family’s dream to open their own business. The market is located in the Oxford neighborhood, which is an area that is considered to be a food desert. Food deserts are areas that have limited access to affordable and nutritious food. This led the family to stock fresh produce commonly used in Latin recipes, like onions, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers. and they saw a need to make food more accessible in the area where some rely on public transportation or walk to get their groceries.
It is also an area where some people have to rely on public transportation or their own feet to get around.
“[It is] more convenient to elders,” said Soto. “There’s a lot of Latin around here as well. It would be a little more convenient for people to stop here rather than going a little farther, especially now with the pandemic and snow.”
Soto said the family chose the Oxford neighborhood because it is the area they are most familiar with, and one that gets looked over when it comes to new business.
“A lot of people think of the south as being bad,” said Soto. “The reputations are just bad but, honestly, since we opened here we have had not one problem. Everybody is super friendly. I love it here, I feel like I wouldn’t want to build a business anywhere else.”
The biggest roadblock they faced in starting up their business during the pandemic was getting the shelves stocked. The family drives up to Chicago to buy product from a wholesaler but found that they were limited on how much they could buy of certain items that were selling fast because of the pandemic.
