La Fiesta

Handy Andy Supermarkets, a major competitor in San Antonio's grocery market, was one of the nation's largest Hispanic-owned firms in the 1980s. The supermarket chain began in Miami in the 1920s, but after a hurricane the company moved to San Antonio in 1926. The food store chain was at its peak when it opened its 30th local store in 1975. The 36,674-square-foot store was state-of-the-art, with electronic cash registers; bakery, wine and card shops; and a loading area near the front where workers would load groceries into customers' cars. The chain won a $19.5 million contract in 1980 to serve up to 60,000 meals a day at Lackland AFB. Handy Andy then had 57 stores in Texas. But in late 1981, the chain hit financial difficulties, cut employees pay and moved its headquarters. Handy Andy now has 14 supermarkets, including six in San Antonio, two in New Braunfels, and one each in Seguin and Schertz, Texas. Its stores, small by today's standards, mark competitively priced items with bilingual signs: "Red Tag Special" "Etiqueta Roja Especial." In 2000, Handy Andy became part of Houston-based Grocers Supply Co., Inc., the Southwest's biggest grocery wholesaler. Grocers Supply created the Bexar County Markets subsidiary to manage the Handy Andy chain.