AMERICAN FORK — A popular Utah-based market that caters to the Latino community has opened its 10th location, and plans are in the works for yet another store, underscoring the growth of the Hispanic population.
Rancho Markets, led by chief executive officer Eli Madrigal, opened its first location in South Salt Lake in 2006. Twenty years later, just last week, store leaders held a grand opening for the 10th Rancho Markets location in a strip mall at 702 State Street in American Fork.
The store was launched with the idea of providing products to the Latino community that were difficult to find elsewhere, “and, in effect, the demand has grown in recent years because this population segment has grown,” said Dana Pérez, who handles marketing for Rancho Markets. “We want more people to be able to find the products that make them feel at home.”
The new store actually opened its doors on Sept. 16, then held a ceremonial grand opening with Mexican-style wrestlers, mariachi music, free tacos and more on Sept. 26. While providing products that can be found at other supermarkets, the Rancho Markets stores also offer produce and other goods common in Mexico and other parts of Latin America.
The American Fork site was picked because of the absence of a nearby market catering to the Latino population. Latinos accounted for 17.6% of Utah’s population as of 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates — up from around 13% in 2010.
“Though we have a location in Provo and another in West Valley, there wasn’t a Latino store between the two locations,” Pérez said. “The people really wanted it, and it’s going well.”
Apart from American Fork, Provo and two West Valley sites, Rancho Markets has stores in Kearns, Magna, Ogden, Millcreek, Clearfield and Salt Lake City. Plans are in the works to potentially open an 11th location next summer to meet continued demand, Pérez said, but she wouldn’t identify the site because the efforts haven’t been finalized.
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Madrigal, originally from Mexico, worked in a Las Vegas grocery store for 11 years before coming to Utah and deciding to open her own Latino market here. She serves on the board of directors of Suazo Business Center, which promotes business development and aided the businesswomen in her earlier years.
“Seeing our entrepreneurs’ dreams grow is proof that hard work and community transform lives,” Suazo said in a congratulatory social media post about the new Rancho Markets store.
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