Rinconcito offers taste of Mexico
Article content
A taste of Mexico is available here in Tillsonburg.
Rinconcito Mexican Grocery Store, operated by Karen and Victor Goni, opened in May at 1 Library Lane, Suite 103, Tillsonburg, conveniently located for downtown shoppers.
It features a selection of Mexican products including fresh produce, beverages, tortillas, salsas, taco kits, enchiladas, fresh tamales and much, much more. Visit www.rinconcito.ca to see their full selection of products.
“We couldn’t be more blessed and happy,” said Victor, who assists his wife Karen, the owner of Rinconcito. “We started looking into this last November and we were able to open in May. The community has been receiving us really well. They are happy to see us here and we can just expect to get bigger.
“The major comment is that they don’t have to go all the way to the other two stores (Aylmer and Eden), which was part of the idea,” said Victor.
Rinconcito means ‘Little Corner’ and it fits perfectly with at their location next to the Service Canada office and library.
“Most of the migrant workers come to town to do their major grocery shopping. Right now, because of COVID-19, there’s not as many as there used to… but it’s just going to get better, right? Under the circumstances of COVID-19 we are doing well. We have already hired two local part-time staff and we are very happy to have them with us.”
The grocery store is currently open six days a week, and and they will expand to seven when the library opens on Sundays.
Rinconcito takes pride in educating its customers, helping them find the Mexican food they want, offering recipe suggestions and ideas, spices, and ingredients that maybe they hadn’t considered.
“People have been receptive, and for the most part also they are very familiar with some of the products.”
Rinconcito also has unexpected surprises – they sell Shaw’s ice cream by the scoop, 1.5-litre tubs or the amazing Jarritos pop and ice cream floats (pineapple pop and strawberry ice cream highly recommended).
“There is no other store that sells the ice cream by the scoop in the downtown,” Victor noted. “Jarritos is a very light-flavoured pop, different flavours and people enjoy them.
“In a couple more weeks we are going to be selling ready-to-eat food – tostadas, tacos and tortillas, and quesadillas as well.
“We are trying to work with local people. For example our tortillas are made in Ontario – we have tortillas from Leamington, Vienna, and from Simcoe. Our chorizo is made in Exeter. We understand how important is to support local and the same way our customers are supporting us, we like to support others.”
Another surprise is maple syrup from Hayes Maple Syrup (Dave and Joanne Hayes, Tillsonburg).
They also cater to other ethnic backgrounds with noodles, perogies, and other special requests.
“I would say 95% per cent of our products are 100% Mexican, the other 5% is products that people will request.
“We knew that there was a niche here and we are happy to be here,” said Victor. “The welcoming from the customers has been incredible. They are very happy we are here, they are super. We even have people just opening the door and saying ‘we wish you good luck.'”
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.