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| Marco Roldan Passed Away At The Age Of 71 June 18th |
Marco Roldan passed away quietly with family at the age of 71 on June 18th after a long battle with Cancer. Roldan was a pioneer in the world of Hispanic food in the Triangle. He established the first Hispanic store in the Triangle that is still the heart Hispanic life in Raleigh. WNCN'S Mike Gonzalez profiled him earlier this year in the above documentary.
January, 15,2014
By Mike Gonzalez
El Mandado was Raleigh's first Hispanic and Mexican store. If you didn't know where you were, you may mistake it for a store in Mexico."El Mando started on wheels...visiting our customers door by door in 1989," said owner Marco Roldan during an interview I conducted with him in January of 2014.
Roldan said he built the business the old fashioned way. "We started visiting our customers and delivering to them door to door every weekend and then we started expanding," said Roldan.
Roldan never imagined those long days traveling around eastern North Carolina in a delivery van would lead to a 36,000 square foot store of Hispanic Food Heaven. The store serves hundreds of people across the Triangle every single day. Roldan's first store on Atlantic Avenue opened in 1992. It was only 750 square feet but Roldan says the same principles he ran that store with still apply today. "People always felt like we treated them well. "There were times I gave food and supplies free to my customers because they would've have gone hungry. I never wanted to treat anyone like a dollar. Sometimes it would take a month to get paid. But to me it was worth it. And many of those customers are still with me today, 30 years later," said Roldan.
Roldan, 71 years old, passed away on June 18th, 2015 after battling Cancer. Roldan emigrated from Guatemala to North Carolina in the mid 80's for a better life and political freedom. He worked as a Carpenter in Charlotte for several years until he got transferred to Cary,NC. It was almost by chance Roldan got into the grocery business. His wife Ana was taking classes to learn English at a local school and she shared with Marco how people were feeling about grocery selections. “She heard from classmates complaining in the area there's no way to get good tortillas, good cheese or anything that we are used to. So the Roldan’s had an idea, deliver Hispanic products to the Triangle's growing Hispanic population.
"We would go to Chapel Hill, Durham, Wake Forest. But the hardest part was finding where to get the products," said Roldan. Roldan found himself driving to Washington, D.C. on the weekends to get supplies. Roldan thinks part of his success was realizing the Hispanic population, that is now close to a million people in North Carolina, would grow immensely. "Yes this is true, it's why we've been so successful...because we were the first grocery store in Raleigh that opened to the public," says Roldan.
As Raleigh’s Hispanic population grew, so did El Manado’s reputation and his customer base. Roldan knew he would eventually have to expand."We kept growing and we came to the conclusion that we need to open a really big store. We needed to expand it as big as possible. And this is why we came up with this store in 1999," said Roldan.
El Manado on 4020 Capital Blvd is much more than a grocery store. For many of his customers coming here is like visiting an old friend. "It feels like home here in a way. This is why we try to keep it like that. To make people to make people feel at home, " says Roldan.
El Mandado is filled with everything a shopper needs Hispanic or not. From Mexican beers, spices and Chile peppers. The store also has a growing aisle of Caribbean products for a new wave of customers from Puerto Rico, Cuba and Central America. Roldan says he also has many Caucasian and African American customers. "We are a regular grocery store as well. We have all the things you need in addition to Hispanic products. So we are growing the diversity of our customer base," says Roldan.
Roldan also has amenities inside the store others can't offer. There's a law firm, clothing store, cell phone shop, a laundry mat and even a travel agency. "We want to give people many options," said Roldan.
But what I really wanted to know was is where did the name El Mandado come from? Roldan says it was a name his customers chose."The Mexican people, they call El Mandado anything relative going to the store with food. When they go to the grocery store they say we are going to get El Mandado.
I asked Marco Roldan if he had advice for people opening a business? "First of all, yes it's hard work. just don't give up the first time that you fail and you can't expect that every single moment that you're going to make a profit. Sometimes you come out with the conclusion that it doesn't always work. You have to make adjustments and realize that customer service is the most important thing," said Roldan.
It was clear by his great personality, amazing work ethic and wonderful store that customer service is why Marco Roldan was so successful. There's no doubt he will be missed.
There's a viewing today (Tuesday June 23 from 10 am -2 pm) at Bright House Funeral Home at 405 Main Street in Wake Forest, NC. A funeral will follow shortly after. You can send flowers to El Mandado or 12312 Penrose Trail Raleigh, NC 271614
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