Latino Business Organizing Takes a Step Forward in Southern MN

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on February 24, 2009

At a meeting at Plaza Morena Restaurant in Owatonna on February 17 2009, a diverse group of restaurant and food business owners from Red Wing, Waseca, Albert Lee, Owatonna and Faribault meet to discuss an organizing process to secure higher level of cooperation and organization in the food business owners sector of the Southern Minnesota region.

Under the direction of the Rural Enterprise Center, the group will undergo a process of exploration of the regional opportunities within the retail food industry, the established capacity of the Latino/a owned restaurants and food businesses, the constrains and difficulties of growing these businesses within a down economy, razor thing margins and a competitive environment. Growing the influence and presence of these businesses, requires a plan based on in-depth analysis of the overall movement of goods and services and the business environment and industry related opportunities. A work-plan and strategy to significantly improve the ability of the region’s Latino/a restaurant and other food business owners to grow and thrive will be conducted, and exploration into how these restaurants can partner with other Latino/a-owned food production and processing systems will be a key component of any future planning.

These efforts also contribute marginal value to the growing Latino/a food production and value added processing initiatives underway at the Rural Enterprise Center, where we have designed a process for integrating some of the lines of production and distribution that are key in capturing more of the value added dollars of the food chain. Stay tuned, there will be more coming.

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