SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ENTERPRISE : The Right Ingredients : Ethnic Markets Help Make the Perfect Holiday Meals

Jorge Cruz Jr., owner of the R&G; Meat Market in Huntington Park, started stocking up on pork legs in September, before the holiday rush pushed up the price for the succulent meat.

Then he brought turrones, a sweet candy from Spain, and he began collecting sidras and other wines from around Latin America.

Today, his carnecia’s aisles are flooded with food and freshly baked bread, so Latino residents from around the area can find the ingredients necessary for a perfect Christmas meal.

Small businesses from Koreatown to South-Central to Santa Ana have offered the Southland’s diverse population a maddening array of goods for preparing traditional holiday meals, just as though they were in the Philippines, Korea or Mexico. These small Southland firms stay competitive in the area’s tough grocery market by supplying products that are not usually offered at mainstream supermarkets or department stores.

Those looking for Armenian goods, for example, can find a range of stores in Glendale, while Filipino foods are sold along a corridor on Vermont Avenue near downtown. Many stores catering to African American tastes are clustered near Leimert Park and in Inglewood.

By now these stores have sold most of their Christmas items, but many remain open today for last-minute needs.

Even for cultures that do not traditionally celebrate Christmas, the holiday makes it mark on local businesses.

These stores cater to a clientele that is made up largely of recent or first-generation immigrants looking for a taste of home.

Shoppers “are looking for their ethnic food,� Cruz said.

This is a large and underserved market. The 1990 U.S. Census reported that 2.9 million residents of Los Angeles County are foreign-born--about a third of the population, and 59% of county residents are members of minority groups.

Many live in areas not well-served by large supermarkets, according to researchers.

A study by RLA (formerly Rebuild L.A.) found that in the area most affected by the 1992 riots, consumers purchased $1-billion worth of food last year, but only 55 markets with total sales of $637 million were open in the region. RLA President Linda Griego said that similar sales deficits most likely exist in lower-income areas, such as Pacoima and East Los Angeles.

Smaller stores targeting minority buyers--including 23 of the 55 markets--are successful because they carry specialty goods desired by the city’s diverse population, she said.

Large supermarket chains have had trouble reaching the minority market. Last year, Vons Cos. converted six of its nine Latino-themed Tianguis stores to conventional supermarkets.

Some shoppers drive miles out of their way to return to where they shopped years before.

“This is the only way to get our Latin products,� said Ishmael Millan of Bellflower, who has shopped at the R&G; Meat Market for 23 of store’s 25 years.

R&G; buys foods from 200 vendors from Cuba, Nicaragua, Spain, the Caribbean, South America and Mexico. Many of its fruits and vegetables are listed with as many as three different names.

“We like to think of ourselves as the United Nations,� Cruz said. When the store first opened, it catered to a largely Mexican clientele. But as the larger chains started targeting the Mexican American market, the store began to focus more on Caribbean, Central and South American customers, Cruz said. Only about 15% of his goods can be found in mainstream supermarkets, he said.

At the Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo, visitors have been greeted each December weekend by a Santa in a red and gold kimono, carrying a sword and shouting in Japanese: “I am shogun Santa� to passersby. Stores in the plaza stocked miniature Santas and other Christmas ornaments to commemorate the season.

At the Naga Food Market, near 3rd Street and Vermont Avenue, rice is piled up to the ceiling for the store’s largely Filipino American customers. The store’s most popular holiday item is dried rice noodles, which are used to make rice cakes. Lena Sarmiento, Naga’s manager, said the store begins stocking these items in October and sells several hundred pounds worth. Also sought after at the 6-year-old store are catfish and shrimp items, Sarmiento said.

At the R Ranch Market in the Mid-City area, shoppers can pick up not only prime rib, ground beef and chicken, but also hog maw, pork chitterlings and corn husks. Pinatas hang from the ceiling as patrons of diverse backgrounds crowd the aisles.

Mike Shalabi, owner of R Ranch Markets, said his two stores in Los Angeles and one in Santa Ana see a tremendous rise in sales of ethnic food during Christmas, particularly Mexican and Central American goods, such as masa for tamales and dried chiles, and traditionally African American foods, such as black-eyed peas, pork sausages and collard greens. Shalabi’s family has run the R Ranch Markets for 21 years, changing its inventory according to the changing demographics.

“We cater to all communities,� Shalabi said. “We’re definitely more competitive because we niche market.�