Latin grocery chain El Rio Grande Latin Market is launching a heroic campaign to win a world record.
From May 3-5, the Dallas-Fort Worth chain is transforming its location southeast of White Rock Lake into an "avocado wonderland" to set the Guinness World Record for largest avocado display.
To do that, they brought in 260,292 avocados, which is 86,764 pounds.
The store, located at 3035 N Buckner Blvd., kickstarted its campaign on Friday May 3 with a Guinness World Record judge in attendance and a community celebration from 10 am-6 pm with mariachi bands, DJ, giveaways, scholarship presentation, school performances, food tastings, avocado recipes, an avocado-themed cake bake-off competition, cooking demonstrations, and more.
According to a spokesperson, they did break the record at 10 am on May 3. The previous Guinness Book of World Records weight was 77,365 pounds. Their 86,764 pounds topped that by nearly 10,000 pounds.
The spokesperson did not respond to inquiries about where all the avocados came from, or where they will end up. One presumes they're for sale. That seems like a lot of extra avocado to have on hand. Then again, it is Cinco de Mayo. Maybe there'll be a higher-than-usual demand for avocados for guacamole making.
Avocados as far as the eye can see at El Rio Grande Latin Market.El Rio Grande
While their celebration of the avocado is fun, they're also trying to raise awareness about the importance of access to nutritious foods, says El Rio marketing director Gladys Marquez in a release.
“We recognize that access to fresh, healthy food is a challenge for many people in our community," she says. "Throughout this campaign, we are doing more than breaking records—we're supporting our local economy and strengthening our community.”
El Rio Grande Latin Market was founded in 2005 by CEO Hamdy Shalabi in a partnership with his family, with a dream to bring flavors of Latin cuisine to Dallas-Fort Worth. They opened their first location at 5308 Maple Ave.
They offer an array of Latin-inspired departments with fresh ingredients unique to the store. Specialty offerings include daily baked goods made from scratch, Panaderia with custom cakes and sweets, onsite cocina with ready-made Latin dishes to enjoy in-store or at-home, and aqua frescos made daily.
The location on Buckner Boulevard opened in August 2023 with $1.3 million in development funds from the city of Dallas, to give that area a supermarket. It was the chain's fifth location in Dallas, following Maple Avenue, Lake June, Jefferson Boulevard, and Webb Chapel. There are also locations in Fort Worth, Garland, Grand Prairie, and Mesquite.
All stores are joining in on the avocado effort with special promotions May 3-5.
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