Noticing a lack of places selling traditional Latino snacks, drinks and food in the area, residents Sergio Garcia and his wife, Maria, decided to do something to fill that need.
The Clark County residents opened Merry’s Minimart in Dollar Corner earlier this fall to cater to the growing Hispanic community in north Clark County.
Prior to opening Merry’s Minimart, Nava worked at a nearby gas station and would hear from Latino customers that they had a hard time finding traditional Latino grocery goods, candies, drinks and more in the area.
“I noticed that the Latin community is growing up, you know, especially here in Vancouver [and] Battle Ground area,” Garcia said. “That’s why I plan to bring [Latino goods], not just for them, I mean, a lot of Americans they like those products, too. They want to taste it. They want to enjoy it, and we plan to bring it closer for them.”
Garcia and Nava have been working to obtain their liquor license to sell beer and other alcoholic drinks at the minimart, but that is taking some time.
“Licenses, in general, are a little bit hard,” Garcia said, adding he wished they were easier for everybody to obtain. “I wish it could be quicker, but it took us like five to six months to open because of all the regulations and stuff, and like I said, we plan to follow all the rules, and we did, and finally we are open.”
Now that they are open, Garcia’s main goal is to expand the size of Merry’s Minimart, something the building’s owner, who wants them to succeed, supports, Garcia said.
After being open for a month and a half, Nava, who works at the store full time, has received positive customer feedback. She said customers mentioned to her that they like that the store has a little bit of everything.
“We want our customers to feel welcome and say, ‘Hey, this is like my pantry. I don’t have this. I can grab it, and I can go home and cook for my family,’ ” Garcia said.
Garcia encourages customers to let them know if they can’t find specific items they want at Merry’s Minimart so they can try and order them.
Merry’s Minimart is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and is located at 7216 NE 219th St., near Battle Ground at the Dollar Corner intersection. People can call 360-521-9140 for more information.
