Mega Mercado, which started in west Lakeland 22 years ago as a Latino market that added a Mexican restaurant, has expanded to a second location in south Lakeland.
The south Lakeland location at 6645 S. Florida Ave. flips the formula; its larger Mexican restaurant is paired with a smaller Latino market next door.
Deivy Peralta, one of four family members who own Mega Mercado, said they saw an opportunity to expand after the south Lakeland space became vacant.
It previously housed another Mexican restaurant – Tapatio’s southside location, which closed after the death of owner Jesus Vargas earlier this year. The original Tapatio’s on Memorial Boulevard, owned by Rene Vargas, remains open.
New clientele: The new location, which opened in September, allowed Mega Mercado to expand its customer base because of differing neighborhood characteristics, said Peralta, 32, who co-owns the restaurants with his brother, cousin and aunt.
The southside location receives far more non-Latino patrons than the original location in a plaza at George Jenkins Boulevard and Wabash Avenue, which serves a predominantly Latino population, he said.
Peralta believes his southside location has a similar clientele to the people who dined at Tapatio’s. Still, he estimates about 40 percent of the patrons there are Latino, and from countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba and El Salvador.
“This place was a very good place. I don’t know how they closed it because it’s busy over here,” said Peralta in English, noting that he prefers to speak in Spanish.
Off to a good start: “I am very happy and content because a lot of people have come,” Peralta said in Spanish. “Since we opened, we’ve been busy. A lot of people have come. They’ve given us good reviews. They like the food. They say it’s authentic Mexican food.”
The restaurant is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Peralta said his favorite dishes are the fajitas and the birria tacos. Birria is similar to a stew that is made with beef, goat or lamb.
Peralta credits his on-the-job culinary training and his employees from Mexico with assisting him to make the food taste authentic. When you walk into the restaurant, you’ll hear authentic bachata music playing in the background. That’s because Peralta and his family are from the Dominican Republic.
“I like Mexican food more. I like Mexican culture. It is very traditional. And the (patrons) treat me well,” Peralta said in Spanish, adding that he’s spent seven years learning how to prepare Mexican food.
Peralta said the owners will add frozen treats by incorporating a paleteria. It will serve Mexican-inspired popsicles that are made in house with fresh fruits and ingredients, and Mexican-inspired ice cream, also referred to as “nieve.” Once the paleteria is ready to go, he plans to have a grand opening celebration before the end of the year, he hopes.
The store next door: Mega Mercado Tienda is next to the restaurant. It is a small grocery store with products commonly sold in Latin America. It has many things a family would need for weekly grocery shopping, from fruits and vegetables, to meats, cleaning products, rice, beans and snacks.
“We never freeze the meat. It’s a meat that comes directly from the cow. We also have a lot of antojitos,” Peralta said in Spanish, explaining that antojitos are snacks or finger foods.
From New Jersey to Florida: Peralta said he was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and moved to New Jersey in 2009.
In 2018, he moved to Jacksonville, to work in his cousin’s Mexican restaurant, and began studying Mexican cuisine. That’s when he learned of the opportunity to purchase Mega Mercado Restaurant and Tienda from its previous owners.
In 2019, his family moved to Lakeland to purchase and take over the brand.
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