Daniel Hernandez, the owner of Colonial Market and Restaurant in south Minneapolis, points up to a sea of brightly colored pinatas in the store.

“The most traditional pinata is the one that is the star,” he said. He’s giving a tour of the store’s various offerings. The star pinatas are the top sellers and are made in the U.S., including in Minnesota, by Mexican employees.

He also gushed about the various meats in the butcher shop that are popular and showed off the space where his workers produce tortillas, which he said are served in half of all Mexican restaurants in Minnesota.

Hernandez has another section that’s special: vegetables.

“I’m very proud that we bring number one tomatoes,” he said, referring to Grade A produce. “They’re really, really beautiful … Cilantro, I love the smell of cilantro.”

A boy who dreamed of success

Hernandez, who grew up just outside of Acapulco, Mexico, has always been excited about work and figuring out how to make money. 

At 10, he would take people’s garbage to a dump three miles away for three pesos. He hired his older brother to help him carry the refuse.

“I will knock on the doors and say, Hey, can I take your garbage?” he said. “I was making money. I was always an entrepreneur. I always have my own little businesses, which I really enjoy and like.”

Like thousands of others in Minnesota, Hernandez said he came to the U.S. as teenager and has DACA status — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

As an adult, the hustle continued. Hernandez, now 40, has worked in restaurants, construction, landscaping, car washing, and dishwashing. 

“I did everything, anything I could in order to make it,” he said.

By the time he was 24, Hernandez started up an event photography business. He later moved on to magazine publishing; he opened a tax and accounting business and later invested in a car dealership.

In mid-2019 his business partner told him about a smaller market, Marisa’s, that was up for sale.

“So I said, ‘All right, let’s do that.’”

Bringing fresh produce to a food desert

Hernandez hopes that the fresh vegetables he is so proud of will also be a hit with customers at the grand opening of the second Colonial Market.

In February 2023, Aldi Supermarket closed its north Minneapolis store at Penn and Lowry Avenues, leaving nearby community members frustrated that another supermarket had shut its doors. 

Earlier this summer, Minneapolis city leaders announced Colonial Market and its Mexican restaurant will take over the site.

City council member LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents the neighborhood, said she remembered what questions came to mind when she learned Aldi would close.

“What’s next? How can we ensure that people don’t go deeper into a food desert?,” Vetaw said.

She said she met Hernandez more than a year ago and he told her about his vision for the space and Vetaw said she looks forward to walking or biking to the new supermarket.

“I’m excited for the future of what Colonial is going to bring, not only the fresh fruits and vegetables but the jobs right here in this community,” she said.

The new Colonial Market will be located in a zip code where 34 percent of residents identify as African American; 34 percent identify as white and 14 percent identify as Hispanic or Latino.

And while the market will have a Mexican restaurant and sell ingredients used in Latin American dishes, it will also stock foods and ingredients for customers with different tastes.

Not only will Colonial Market bring fresh food back to this part of north Minneapolis, Hernandez said it will create 40 jobs paying between $18 to $20 per hour that come with healthcare benefits and paid time off. 

The north Minneapolis store is expected to open in December. Hernandez also plans to open a second store in the Hi-Lake Shopping Center in October. And he says there are another five locations in the Twin Cities metro region in the works.