Rural Grocery Spotlight: Los Catrachos (Liberal, Kansas)

 

This story was originally printed in the Kansas Food First magazine and modified for this feature. Read the full magazine here.

Nestled on a quiet street in Liberal, KS is a vibrant tienda latina, or Latin American market, offering a mix of Central American goods and everyday fresh staples. Los Catrachos is more than a grocery store—it’s a local favorite where culture, community, and good food come together.

While the store carries an array of Central American products, it pays special homage to Honduras in its name, a nod to the home country of the family that owns it. “The word ‘catracho’ is like a nickname that Hondurans use to refer to themselves – it's a term of pride,” explains Ledis Espinal, the store’s owner, with a smile.

Espinal began building the business in 2014 with limited resources and relied on personal savings and community support to bring her entrepreneurial vision to life. She went on to grow and diversify the store’s inventory in the years that followed; in addition to their non-perishable product mix of spices, herbal teas, snack foods, and beverages, Los Catrachos gradually incorporated more fresh offerings, including various regional cheeses and fresh produce like plantains, citrus fruits and soursop.

Today, the business is a family affair; Espinal’s young adult sons Jermy and Justy play a key role in running the store. They are tech-savvy and have bilingual skills that have given Los Catrachos an edge on marketing to Spanish and English-speaking customers alike.

“We have had customers say they’ve come from as far away as Guymon, Oklahoma,” explains son Jermy Espinal. Even in neighboring communities that may have stores carrying Latin products, “we hear that we offer a greater variety of products compared to others,” he says.

As a Business Builder Subaward grantee, the store will soon receive the necessary funds to add a double-door freezer, fruit coolers to support larger produce like melons, and a point-of-sale (POS) system that accepts SNAP benefits. Ledis Espinal is excited to be able to offer more fresh and frozen fruit; despite rising costs, fruit is “one of those things” that their customers return to them for again and again. “The [mangoes] from Central America just taste better, and they’re what our customers want, because they taste like the ones they grew up with."