Latest news with #Carbajal
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FEMSA struggles in Mexico as US expansion marches forward
This story was originally published on C-Store Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily C-Store Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Fomento Económico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA) has closed 432 'underperforming' pharmacies in Mexico over the past year as foot traffic in its home country has steadily declined, executives said during the company's second-quarter earnings call on Monday. FEMSA has seen traffic declines for 'several quarters' in Mexico, which it attributes to 'a persistently weak consumer environment' and 'atypically adverse weather conditions,' CFO Martín Arias Yániz said during the call. The closures — as well as a 'significant overhead reduction' made during Q2 — aim to improve FEMSA's profitability in Mexico, he added. The expansion of FEMSA's Oxxo c-store business in the U.S. has been a major storyline in the c-store industry over the past year. Although there's no indication of that process slowing down, FEMSA's 'sustained traffic weakness in Mexico is the clear focal point' for the retailer as it moves into the second half of 2025, Yániz emphasized during the call. Dive Insight: The past quarter was especially difficult for FEMSA and Oxxo in Mexico, where the retailer 'delivered a mixed set of results,' FEMSA Chairman and CEO José Antonio Fernandez Carbajal said in the company's earnings report. While total revenue increased 6.3%, driven by FEMSA's operations outside of Mexico, revenue back home — where it operates over 23,000 Oxxo c-stores — only increased 1.4% year-over-year, while same-store sales in Mexico fell by 1.2%, according to FEMSA's earnings report. 'Our operations were geared to a stronger consumer environment than the one that materialized,' Yániz said during the call. 'Thus, our costs and expenses ran a bit ahead of actual volume and traffic.' Carbajal and Yániz said that the difficult environment notably hurt Oxxo's soft drinks, beer and tobacco sales, and Carbajal added that FEMSA is focusing on getting these categories back on track. 'We are working hard together with our supplier partners to ensure we can adjust our assortment and price-package architecture to remain competitive in addressing our customers' needs as we advance through the summer and approach the key selling season in the fourth quarter,' Carbajal said. Despite its underperformance in Mexico, FEMSA's leaders appear upbeat about the progress it's making in the U.S. As of the end of last quarter, the company has rebranded 40 former Delek c-stores in West Texas to the Oxxo banner, a bump from the 15 it had as of late April, Yániz said during the call. Besides rebrands, new stores have incorporated 'several hundred' new items, including selections from Oxxo's proprietary Andatti coffee program. FEMSA has rebranded Delek stores in the Midland, Odessa and Lubbock areas of Texas and is making its way towards El Paso, Yániz said. 'Early results in terms of incremental sales are promising,' he said. Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of Oxxo c-stores in Mexico and that 432 Oxxo c-stores have closed over the past year. Recommended Reading Oxxo can become 'super regional' player in the US, CEO says
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Dozens rally in Boston in support of immigrant TPS holders as Trump administration moves toward removing legal status
TPS holders from Sijan Shrestha, 29, of Brighton, moved to the US from Nepal as an international student in 2014, when he was able to attain TPS status after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal in 2015. 'I'm in the mercy of DHS,' she said in an interview. Advertisement Shrestha said he works in biotechnology and feels he has contributed to the US economy through his job and by paying taxes. 'You're not the same person as you were before you get punched in the head, and it's the same thing here,' Shrestha said, noting the difficulty of returning to Nepal, where he hasn't lived since he turned 18. Shrestha said he tried to obtain legal status through other options when he saw his TPS status was threatened, but he was not selected for a work visa in the H-1B lottery system. He now hopes to attend graduate school to stay in the US a couple more years. Advertisement 'For the longest time I chose not to speak about it, there were too many questions,' he said. 'It's been a learning process for me over the years as well.' At least 17,135 TPS holders live in Massachusetts, many with children who are US citizens, according to the Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals first received TPS status in 1999 during following the destruction brought on by Hurricane Mitch. In a statement, DHS said the program was never intended to last for over a quarter century, and the impact of the natural disaster on the Central American country no longer exists. Under federal law, individuals from certain countries who are already in the US can receive TPS. The designation is given during natural disasters, civil wars, or 'extraordinary and temporary conditions,' according to Individuals under the protected status are not removable during the duration of TPS, can receive work and travel authorization, and cannot be detained by DHS on the basis of immigration status. TPS holders from Haiti, one of the At the rally, attendees held signs in support of TPS holders displaying messages like, 'Immigrants make U.S. great.' Patricia Carbajal, 46, of Revere, said she arrived in Texas in 1998 from Honduras before eventually moving to Massachusetts with her family. After 26 years living and working in the US as a single mother, Carbajal said she is facing deportation in the next two months. Advertisement 'Our lives depend on the judge's decision,' Carbajal said in Spanish, referring to the lawsuit in San Francisco. Isabel Matute, 52, who was born in El Salvador and lives in Revere, has been in the US for more than 26 years. She said she used to be a TPS holder but is now awaiting her green card after marrying a U.S. citizen. 'One has to fight for those who can't,' Matute said in Spanish. Maria Probert can be reached at
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Restaurant review: Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, a flagship for pork in Chicago
Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, the newest Mexican restaurant by the first family of pork in Chicago, brings 50 years of tradition and transformation to a flagship committed to the community in Little Village. Inocencio Carbajal opened the original Carnitas Uruapan in 1975 with his wife, Abigail Carbajal, in Pilsen. While , as the family patriarch is known in the neighborhood, a nickname for his fair skin and green eyes, still roams the dining rooms, his son now runs the family business built on carnitas, and hospitality just as tender. Marcos Carbajal, a former banker and second-generation owner of the enterprise, expanded with a second location in Gage Park in 2019. They celebrated the grand opening of the third and largest restaurant in January. Carbajal was named a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur this year. The flagship in Little Village has become a dining destination for locals and regional tourists too. 'We see people of Mexican origin from around the Midwest,' said Carbajal. 'They come to buy quinceañera dresses and then eat carnitas.' When you wend your way past shops blooming with birthday ballgowns, and sidewalk vendors selling limes or Labubus, a crunchy puff of chicharrón may magically appear. 'If you're waiting for takeout with 15 or 20 plus people, we'll go up and down the line to offer you chicharrón,' said Carbajal. 'Just to make that wait a little easier to manage.' If you dine in, instead of chips and salsa, your server will bring to your table a captivating spread of complimentary chicharrón and salsas. That's an amazing gift at a restaurant where you can feast for under $20. The stunning carnitas 'Especial' is their signature sampler meal with a half pound of glorious pork, a crackling taco dorado, velvety refried beans, six house-made tortillas with all the garnishes (onion, cilantro, lime) plus more chicharrón and seriously spicy salsas (verde and jalapeño tomato). You can choose your cut of carnitas, but I highly recommend getting the trio mix, with lean shoulder (like pulled pork), rib meat and lush skin. Then build your own tacos with the warm tortillas, inhaling the elusive perfume of toasted corn. Do note that the special is only available weekdays. On weekends, the corundas reign. The deeply flavorful Michoacán-style triangular tamales are wrapped in fresh corn leaves, and served unwrapped, but fully dressed with brick red chile de arbol salsa, fresh crema and a dusting of cotija cheese. They're not filled like the more familiar tamales, but studded with Oaxacan queso, similar to mozzarella, or acelgas y queso (Swiss chard and cheese). 'It's a very nostalgic item,' said Carbajal. 'In a neighborhood with a lot of people from our part of Mexico in Michoacán, I think that one hits home.' But they're not from his family's recipe. In the early days of the pandemic, he hosted a pop-up with chef Danny Espinoza, now co-owner with his wife, Jhoana Ruiz, of Santa Masa Tamaleria in Dunning. 'He's a friend and his grandmother was a tamale vendor in Michoacán,' said Carbajal. 'So it's his family recipe.' The corundas are made with manteca (lard), he added, of which they have plenty from cooking their carnitas, and two kinds of fresh masa. 'I'm a big fan of our friends at El Popo,' said Carbajal about El Popocatepetl Tortilleria. 'We've been using them since the '70s and they're our neighbors in Pilsen.' Carnitas by the pound cannot be dethroned as their all-around bestseller, but the most popular cut has changed from the old neighborhood to the new, reflecting changing demographics. In Pilsen, they now sell a lot more lean shoulder, Carbajal said. Meanwhile, the pork ribs and fantastically funky skin are a lot more popular in Little Village. The silky chicharrón guisado, fried pork rinds simmered soft in red sauce, remains a weekend-only item at the original store, but is available every day at the sibling locations to tuck into tortillas. Glossy green guacamole and thick-cut chips, the metamorphosis of those tortillas by baptism in bubbling hot manteca, offers a cooling contrast, as does a bright ensalada de nopales (cactus salad). The golden tacos dorados — filled with pillowy pockets of potato and cheese, potato and chorizo, or sesos (spicy pork brain) — crackle when hot from the fryer. Surprisingly, there's one filling that's common across the neighborhoods. 'By far the traditional pork brain,' said Carbajal. 'Because carnitas places in Michoacán are known for selling those hand in hand with the carnitas.' The sesos gets seasoned and cooked with salt, garlic, serrano chile, onion and cilantro before it's stuffed into a tortilla and flash-fried in the caso, or cauldron. The tacos dorados are best when eaten immediately, otherwise they'll harden, and do need a tart squeeze of lime or fire from salsa. Dessert is limited to the frozen paletas first launched in Gage Park, with an especially lovely Gansito pop that's layered with the beloved Mexican chocolate and strawberry snack cake. At the flagship, I would have liked at least one more sweet, perhaps a variation on a regional specialty. After all, they're serving alcoholic drinks for the first time in Little Village, highlighting charanda, the sugarcane spirit made nearly in their hometown in Michoacán. The refreshing Tarasco Secrets cocktail, mixed with Charanda Uruapan and Nixta Licor de Elote (corn liqueur), is familiar and fruited with guava, and shockingly low-priced at $10, when drinks elsewhere go for easily twice as much. 'We wanted to make cocktails that your Mexican aunt or uncle wouldn't think, 'What are you handing me? This tastes weird,'' said Carbajal, laughing. He worked with cantinero (bartender) Luis Estrada, bar manager at The Press Room. Nonalcoholic drinks are delicious too, from an iced café de olla to the house-made horchata, both delicately spiced and sweetened. Regulars should note that a horchata or agua de jamaica (hibiscus) is no longer included with the weekday carnitas meal. 'We can blame inflation for that,' said the restaurateur. But the weekend-only menudo is still a steal. One of the world's legendary hangover cures transforms beef tripe, guajillo chiles and aromatics into a soothing stew. You dress your bowl to taste with onion, cilantro and oregano as part of the restorative ritual. 'Price is something I'm very mindful of,' said Carbajal. 'I want big families to come by.' I ordered online for one visit, because the majority of the business is still takeout, and dined in for another. When I called to confirm my order, after I got through the voice prompts in Spanish, I was able to speak to a live bilingual person. Service was excellent for takeout and dine-in, both fast and friendly. But the thoughtful hospitality starts even before you arrive, with two parking lots in the high-traffic area. The colorful interior by designer Aida Napoles of AGN Design features ribbons on a ceiling installation hiding little marionettes. Everybody used to have those when they were kids down in Mexico, Carbajal said. They're just another detail to discover when a culture is truly seen. Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita 3801 W. 26th St. 773-940-2770 Open: Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Prices: $10.99 (weekday only Carnitas 'Especial' meal), $6.99 (guacamole and tortilla chips), $6 (weekend only corunda), $10 (Tarasco Secrets cocktail), $3.50 (12 ounce iced cafe de olla) Sound: OK (65 to 70 dB) Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with restrooms on same level Tribune rating: Excellent, three of four stars Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
The Sun
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Immigration raids on California cannabis nurseries spark protests
LOS ANGELES: Federal agents conducted immigration enforcement raids on Thursday on state-licensed marijuana nurseries in an agricultural region of coastal Southern California, where they were confronted by throngs of angry protesters. As word and video images of the raids spread on social media, dozens of migrant-rights activists converged on the area in vehicles leading to face-offs with federal agents in the middle of rural roadways, according to the Santa Barbara Independent, Los Angeles Times and other news media. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents accompanied by National Guard troops in military-style vehicles turned up at two locations operated by Glass House Farms - one in the Santa Barbara County town of Carpinteria, about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and one in the Ventura County community of Camarillo, about 50 miles from L.A. Glass House Farms, which bills itself as one of the 'fastest-growing vertically integrated cannabis companies in the U.S.,' said on X that its greenhouse sites 'were visited today by ICE officials,' adding, 'The company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.' An attorney representing clients who work at Glass House said both of the company's nurseries had been previously visited by ICE in June. National Guard troops were with ICE when they arrived at the property Thursday morning. Tear gas One local television station reported that about 100 farmworkers were detained in the immigration sweep prior to the protests, and that tear gas was fired at crowds during an encounter with federal agents. Local TV footage from the scene of one standoff showed protesters yelling and gesturing angrily at armed, uniformed federal agents wearing helmets and face masks blocking traffic with yellow crime-scene tape strung across the road. Asked for information or comment on the situation, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, parent agency of ICE, replied by email: 'DHS law enforcement is executing a warrant at a marijuana facility. Our brave officers will continue to enforce the law.' In Carpinteria, U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal, a California Democrat, said he was denied access to the scene of the raid while seeking to exercise his oversight authority as a member of Congress, and that company officials later told him 10 workers were taken into custody at that location. More than 50 ICE agents took part in the operation there, with crowd-control munitions deployed against members of the crowd in a 'militarized raid targeting farm workers,' Carbajal said on X. One of two city council members who were also present fell and injured her arm in a fracas between protesters and law enforcement, the Independent reported. At a separate clash in Camarillo, a man running from federal agents appeared to open fire with a handgun in the direction of authorities as they lobbed smoke canisters at protesters, video footage from Los Angeles TV station KABC-TV showed. Shifting position The Trump administration has shifted its position several times in recent weeks on whether farmworkers will be subject to its campaign to deport all immigrants who are in the country illegally. Trump on June 14 ordered ICE to halt enforcement activities on farms, but the agency reversed that position days later. On July 3, Trump said he was willing to let migrant workers stay in the country if farmers can 'vouch' for them. Days later Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said there would be 'no amnesty' for farmworkers from deportation. About half of U.S. farmworkers are in the country illegally, according to government estimates. The farm sector has warned that mass deportation of agricultural workers would cripple the nation's food supply chain. Raids on some California farms in June left crops unharvested and farmworkers and operators fearful of further enforcement activity - REUTERS
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'You're an embarrassment": Carbajal demands Hegseth's resignation over dodged questions
Sparks flew in Pete Hegseth's third straight day of congressional hearings, as a House member demanded the defense secretary's resignation. The heated exchange between Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., and Hegseth came after the head of the Pentagon dodged a number of questions from members of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Hegseth had already evaded inquiries about the deployment of troops to Los Angeles and the possibility of plans on invading Greenland and Panama. When Carbajal asked Hegseth if serving in the Trump admin required a loyalty test, Hegseth pushed the representative over the edge when he avoided a direct answer and called the question 'silly.' 'I'm not going to waste my time anymore,' Carbajal said. 'You're not worthy of my attention or my questions. You're an embarrassment to this country. You're unfit to lead, and there's been bipartisan members of Congress that have called for your resignation. You should just get the hell out and let somebody competently lead this department.' On Thursday, Hegseth was grilled by lawmakers about the Trump administration's decision to deploy the California National Guard and several hundred Marines to Los Angeles. That deployment has been challenged in court by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., asked Hegseth if he would abide by a court's ruling in that suit. "Can you assure the American people of two things: you will respect any Supreme Court decision on this matter about whether the Marines are constitutional, and you will respect the district courts when they rule before the Supreme Court rules?' she asked. Hegseth balked. 'What I can say is we should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country,' he said. Also on Thursday, Hegseth puzzled Democrats and Republicans when he failed to definitively answer questions about whether the administration intends to invade Greenland and Panama. Instead of offering a clear answer, Hegseth repeatedly said the Pentagon has 'plans' for various scenarios. 'Any contingency you need, we've got it. We've got a building full of planners, and we're prepared to give recommendations whenever needed,' Hegseth said.
