Mi Pueblo

There is a new attraction in East Palo Alto, where I live, that locals coming out to see. "What kind of attraction," you might ask, "could be driving all the EPA'ers out in droves because of its newness and its novelty?" And I might answer, "Mi Pueblo, East Palo Alto's first grocery store." That's right folks. The mighty city of East Palo Alto had no grocery stores until last weekend (I don't count the scary mini-mart on Pulgas where thugs hang out drinking booze...shudder). Before Mi Pueblo, the closest grocery store was 5 miles away (and is affectionately known as "Soviet Safeway" because it is small and there is a very limited selection). If I wanted to go to a real grocery store, it took at least 20 minutes.

But, all that has changed. I now can walk to the grocery store. If I just need to grab some milk, I can without too much effort. Today, I just needed cheese for a party my house is throwing tonight (a Nacho Libre party where we will serve Mexican food to celebrate...Mi Pueblo). I didn't have to drive all the way to Menlow Park. I just needed to drive a mere 2 minutes (there was traffic) to the store.

Now, given that the name of the store is "Mi Pueblo," the following description might not surprise you. Let's just say that the founders of our new grocery store understood their target audience. While the food labels are in English, the tags don't read "price reduction", but "precio reducción". Instead of a sandwich line at the deli, there is a burrito line. And instead of finding Best Western or Sam's Choice generic brand of cheese, I found Mazatlan! I think I was the only white girl in the whole store. Oh well. I'll take it.