Clewiston shoppers finally got the grocery store many say they'd been waiting years for, as Presidente Supermarket held its grand opening in the Hendry County city, bringing shelves stocked with yuca, arepas and tequeños to a community where more than half the population is Hispanic. The opening drew large crowds eager to see what the company describes as the area's first and only Hispanic supermarket of this size.
According to Gulf Coast News and Weather, Presidente made a $5.5 million investment in the Clewiston store and said it brought 60 new jobs to Hendry County. That jobs figure differs from an earlier report from Abasto, which said the planned 36,900-square-foot Clewiston location, to be built at Clewiston Town Center on East Sugarland Highway with a café, would create about 80 jobs. The discrepancy between the two figures has not been explained.
Shopper Ramonita Gordillo left with a cart full of ingredients for Puerto Rican pasteles, including banana leaves, bowls, guineos and Goya products, the station's report says. “I'm very happy that they opened this place,” Gordillo said, according to the outlet, adding that she was glad the store had finally arrived.
Filling a Gap Residents Said Lasted Too Long
Clewiston resident Roly Gonzalez described the new store as something the city had been missing. “A little piece of Hialeah right here in the city of Clewiston, and everybody loves it. It's been amazing,” Gonzalez said, per the same account.
Shoppers Roli Matos and Greci Delardillez said the store filled a real need in a community with a large Latino population. “There is only a Mexican store and a Walmart, but we needed something more diverse,” they said, according to the report. The pair said the limited options had left residents wanting more variety for some time.
Osvaldo Perez echoed that sentiment, saying the city needed a store like Presidente and that it had been missing from local options. “This city needed us; there isn't another grocery store like Presidente Supermarket, and people have received us so well,” Perez said, per the outlet.
A Store Built for a Mixed Community
Arielle Martinez, who works for Presidente Supermarket, said the chain is designed to serve a broad cross-section of shoppers rather than one narrow group. “We're different. We bring products from every demographic, Hispanics, Caribbeans. It doesn't matter who you are, friend. You always find products from your house, from home,” Martinez said, according to Gulf Coast News and Weather.
The article notes that over 50 percent of Clewiston's population is Hispanic, a factor the outlet ties to the demand that greeted the new store's opening.
Part of a Wider Florida Expansion
The Clewiston opening fits into a broader pattern of growth for the Miami-based chain. Presidente owner and founder Omar Rodríguez said the project reflects the company's larger ambitions in the state, according to Abasto: “This new store reaffirms our commitment to continue expanding the Presidente Supermarket brand throughout Florida.” The same report described Presidente as a company founded more than 30 years ago that now operates dozens of stores across the state and employs thousands of people, including a fourth Hialeah location that opened in early 2025.
Abasto also reported that a planned Presidente #62 in Miami Gardens, spanning 26,000 square feet, was expected to open in December 2025 and employ around 80 people. Separately, Supermarket News reported the chain operated about 45 supermarkets across Southern and Central Florida and at one point was hoping to open three additional locations, including one in Pompano Beach.
Presidente's growth has touched multiple corners of the state in recent years. The Miami Herald reported the chain opened a 44,000-square-foot store in Lake Worth Beach on September 13, 2023, its sixth location in the West Palm Beach area, following a 45,000-square-foot Miramar store that opened that August and a 46,000-square-foot Orlando location earlier that year. The Herald also reported Presidente hoped to open a 28,000-square-foot store in Pompano Beach before the end of 2023 and had planned several more Miami-Dade County locations without naming sites at the time. The chain has said its mission is providing underserved and immigrant communities with familiar everyday products at low prices, according to the Herald's reporting.
