Inside a market on 152nd Street West in Apple Valley, shelves stocked with goods from Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador sit alongside a tortilla shop turning out fresh corn and flour tortillas every day. Bodega 42 Fresh Market has grown into a one-stop destination for shoppers who once had to drive well outside their neighborhood to find the ingredients of home, and its owners say that mission has only gotten more important as food demand across Minnesota remains elevated.
The market was co-owned by Ezequiel Quijada and Fernando Mellado, according to KARE 11, which reported that Quijada, Mellado and a third partner opened Bodega 42 in Apple Valley in 2023. Saul Mellado, part of the family behind the project, told MPR News the store serves as a one-stop shop for Minnesota's Venezuelan, Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Mexican communities. Bodega 42 was co-owned by brothers Saul Mellado-Barbosa and Fernando Mellado-Barboza, and their brother-in-law Ezequiel Quijada, according to Hometown Source reporting on the project's groundbreaking.
A Market Built Around What Was Missing Nearby
The owners told Hometown Source they chose Apple Valley specifically because residents seeking certain Latin American dishes would have to travel north of the Minnesota River to find them. Bodega 42 was developed to meet customer demand for hard-to-find products in one place, per KARE 11's reporting, and it includes a tortilla shop, butcher shop and deli under one roof. At the tortilla counter, customers can buy prepared tortillas, corn or masa, and MPR News reported shoppers can walk in and purchase a bag of freshly made tortillas any day of the week.
The market makes its items from scratch, including salsa prepared on a wood-fired grill, and stocks popular baked goods such as donuts and churros, according to KARE 11's reporting. The business has also added products for the Brazilian market, expanding beyond its original focus on Colombian, Venezuelan and Ecuadorian goods. Next door, the owners also run Homshuk Mexican Kitchen and Bar, which uses fresh ingredients from Bodega 42, including its tortillas, to stock its own menu.
Minnesota's Hispanic Population Has Grown Alongside Markets Like It
Saul Mellado described Bodega 42 to MPR News as the first market of its size in the state that is entirely Latino-owned. MPR News noted that as the number of Minnesotans with Hispanic heritage has steadily grown, so has the presence of markets like Bodega 42. In Apple Valley itself, Hispanic residents made up 7.03% of the population, or about 3,910 people, out of a total population of 55,700 in 2024, according to Data USA. The same source reported that 11.5% of Apple Valley residents, about 6,410 people, were born outside the United States.
Saul and Fernando Mellado immigrated from Mexico City to Minnesota in the late 1990s and cleaned restaurants to earn a living while attending school, MPR News reported. The family's business footprint extends beyond Apple Valley: the owners also operate Orale Mexican Eats in Minneapolis and Andale Taqueria & Mercado in Richfield, according to Hometown Source. The Apple Valley City Council approved plans for Homshuk and Bodega 42 in September 2021, though sources differ on the project's final size — Hometown Source described the approved plans as a 21,350-square-foot building, while MPR News later described the completed marketplace as nearly 22,000 square feet.
Food Demand Still Running High Months After Operation Metro Surge
Per KARE 11, Operation Metro Surge affected Bodega 42 and the surrounding community in 2025, and the owners said the business has not bounced back since. Quijada told the station it may take a while for customers to return to their usual shopping routines, and he said the goods Bodega 42 sells require substantial labor, time, effort and care to produce. Even so, KARE 11 reported that community support during that stretch was greater than Mellado anticipated, with customers offering to help restock shelves and make deliveries, and churches volunteering to help distribute food.
That pattern echoed what played out elsewhere in the Twin Cities during the surge. Dios Habla Hoy Church in Minneapolis and La Viña Community Church in Burnsville expanded their food distribution from several hundred families a week by pickup to several thousand by delivery, according to the Star Tribune. As of late May, Dios Habla Hoy was still serving about 1,100 families weekly and La Viña was serving 800 a week, the newspaper reported. Minneapolis pastor Sergio Amezcua told CBS News that registrations for grocery assistance had been growing by 500 families or more each day during that period.
Statewide, the need has eased somewhat but hasn't disappeared. The Star Tribune reported that demand for food assistance in Minnesota has shrunk since the height of the surge but remains elevated compared to last year, with food shelf visits from January through April up 7% compared to the same period in 2025. Quijada told KARE 11 that Bodega 42 aims to provide customers with answers and correct problems when something goes wrong, a philosophy he said traces back to lessons learned well before the market ever opened its doors.
From Marine Corps Tours to Running a Family Market
Quijada joined the military after high school and served nine years in the U.S. Marine Corps, completing several tours in Iraq, according to KARE 11's reporting. He said he joined the Marines in part because he felt he owed it to his parents, who migrated from El Salvador while fleeing civil war. Quijada told the station his military service taught him to adapt to new situations, lead others, mentor younger generations and be accountable — lessons he said laid the foundation for his adult life and for running Bodega 42.
Bodega 42 Fresh Market, located at 6999 152nd Street West in Apple Valley, is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, per KARE 11's reporting. With Veterans Day falling on November 11, the market's veteran-owned roots and its role feeding Apple Valley's Hispanic community remain closely tied — a market built, its owners say, to make sure fewer families have to drive far from home to find the food they grew up with.
