Successful Conversion: Grande Foods

In the year since the Thriftway Supermarket in Cornelius, Oregon became Grande Foods, the store has turned over its entire team of department managers and seen its layout and product mix thoroughly overhauled.

The decision to cater to the Latino market made sense to the store's business owners, who have watched Cornelius and the surrounding area become a magnet to Oregon's growing Hispanic community.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are more than 320,000 Hispanics in Oregon, accounting for about 9 percent of the state's total population. In Cornelius, Hispanics account for more than 40 percent of the population. More than 82 percent of Oregon's Hispanic residents are of Mexican origin.

Amador Aguirre, president of the Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, said he stops by almost daily to pick up breakfast in Grande Foods' "perfect bakery" as he travels to his job with Worksource Oregon in Hillsboro.

Aguirre, a longtime resident of the area, applauded Evans for having the foresight to adapt his business nearly two years before Wal-Mart opens in Forest Grove, Oregon.

So is Grande Foods ready to facel Wal-Mart?

As Grande Foods approaches its first anniversary, revenue is running about 20 percent ahead of where it was under the old struggling store. Grande Foods has been paying its own bills since April, after relying on loans from its sister store in Hillsboro for the first nine months.

When it opens in 2008, Wal-Mart is expected to bring about 11,000 vehicles past Grande Foods' door every day. The president and general manager of R & M Foods, which operates Grande Foods, expects many of them will be driven by Hispanics from Beaverton, all potential customers for Grande Foods.

He embraces the visibility that will come with being on the way to Wal-Mart.