Mineral Wells Area News

By Amy Meyer/ Mineral Wells Area News

As a young man living in Torreón Coahuila Mexico, Francisco Salinas had opportunities to come study in the United States, just as his older three siblings had done, but it was not his desire.

He dreamed of becoming a Mexican Bullfighter, also known as a matador, but knew those opportunities didn’t exist in the United States so he decided to stay in his native country and chase his own dreams.

Eventually Salinas found his way into the bullfighting arena and worked many years dodging bulls, however in 2006, he decided to hang up his cape when he married his wife and became a father.

A career change from matador to salesman not only opened new opportunities, it created an entrepreneurial spirit in him after working in the meat industry for many years in Mexico.

“I used to sell meat while living in Mexico to supermarkets in the United States,” said Salinas. “I just thought to myself that it would be a good idea to come here to the US and open up my very own store with a meat market, taqueria, bakery and a place for people to be able to send money internationally, all in one supermarket.”

His newest dream began to take shape about 15 years ago when he was living in the Austin area and he noticed that many high quality Mexican products were not available in local stores. It was just before the Pandemic in 2020, when he was visiting a friend in Gainesville that he knew he had to follow through on his idea of opening a grocery store. It was there that he went into a poorly run small Mexican grocery store that was very busy, yet it left a lot to be desired for customers looking for quality Mexican products.

Upon returning to his family in Mexico from that trip, and after much consideration, Salinas decided to take a leap of faith and start a new business.

When he learned his friend had moved from Gainesville to the Weatherford area, he decided to explore that area for a good location. Salinas was encouraged to open a store there but as he traveled further west looking for a building, he became very fond of the people in Mineral Wells.

He spent a few nights staying at the Crazy Water Hotel as he researched locations and finally chose the Mineral Wells community to open his first Super Recuerdo.

“I chose Mineral Wells because everyone was so welcoming here. Anyone I spoke with was super positive and encouraging and I felt it would be successful as I saw the need for more grocery stores,” stated Salinas.

He chose his new stores name as Super Recuerdos, which translates to “great memories” in English, adding to the irony that the building he opened his market inside of was once the location of Piggly Wiggly, a once well known grocery story.

Many Mineral Wells residents have fond memories shopping in that building and hopefully are able to create even more in the new market that Salinas has opened inside there.

His intention is to offer high quality Mexican products that are difficult to find anywhere elsewhere. The store has a meat market, tortilla crafting machines, a bakery and a Taqueria where you can sit and enjoy a great meal while shopping.

One more important service he offers in his store is called MaxiSend. The service allows customers to conduct international financial transactions, as well as to add minutes to their cell phones so they can communicate with their families in other countries. Salinas says that before, his store offered the service, locals had to travel over an hour to “re-charge” their cellphone minutes.

“I am very excited to embark on this journey in Mineral Wells,” said Salinas who has hopes of buying a home and bringing his family here to this community one day.

He also says has ambitions to open more stores in the future but for now Mineral Wells is his focus to keep his dreams alive.

Super Recuerdos is located at 201 SE 1st Avenue and is open seven days a week from 8am to 9pm.

MWAN would like to give a big thank you to Maria Rodriquez for helping translate the interview with Francisco Salinas.