El Paisano Market now in business of handmade tortillas

RIO RANCHO — Imagine walking into your abuela’s or mama’s kitchen and smelling the comforting aroma of homemade tortillas. Now, Rio Ranchoans can smell that familiar smell when they walk into El Paisano Market in the Southern Plaza behind Firestone.

The owner, Adam Padilla, who started the tortilla-making business last month, spoke about the store’s start.

“My father-in-law, mother-in-law owned six of these stores up north from Santa Fe to Espanola to Las Vegas. I married into this family, and I started working for him about 15 years ago. He gave me the opportunity to actually start working in the tortilleria like this, making fresh tortillas,” he said.

Padilla then had the opportunity to take over what used to be Mezquite in 2017, and he took it. For him, it was an upgrade from his job at the time because he already lived in Rio Rancho and didn’t want to have to commute to Santa Fe anymore. He added that when his father-in-law asked him to take over, he and his wife were happy to.

“We started with just the groceries and the meat, and then we opened up a little restaurant, and we just opened up this fresh tortilla factory so you can get fresh tortillas made daily,” he said.

He attributed his success there to his in-laws, who started the business in 1995 and are continuing to open stores in New Mexico.

There are some things that set El Paisano apart from the average grocery store, according to Padilla.

“This is a mom-and-pop. I mean, you’re not coming here for deals. You’re not coming here for the best price like across the street. You’re coming here to get in and out,” he said.

One thing he said he doesn’t like is when people go into a store for one or two items and end up walking out with $100-plus worth of goods.

“This is convenient. This gets you in and out. This is where you actually get to talk to someone at the cash register. You get that one-on-one feel,” Padilla said.

El Paisano has a variety of products that can’t be found at the average grocery store, he said.

“I also have customers that come in and say, ‘Hey, can you get me a certain herb?’ that they won’t find anymore,” he said.

He said the main quality that El Paisano brings to the community is culture. Tortillas aren’t the only freshly made product offered there. Padilla said they also offer freshly made chips, tamales, menudo and more.

Most of the staff are also bilingual, he said. He stressed that the store is for all, not just Hispanics.

“You’re supporting local, someone that is from Rio Rancho, lives in Rio Rancho, and it’s here every day. Locally, we’re open 365 days: Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s,” he said.

The tortilleria is the latest way to connect to the community.

“They will make about 40-60 packs of 10 daily. They have no preservatives. They will not last on your counter, but they’re so good. You’ll eat them in a day or two,” Padilla said.

El Paisano offers both flour and corn tortillas, and people can order any number. Padilla said El Paisano is the only tortilleria in Rio Rancho.

El Paisano also plays host to local jerky products, named El Jerky Loco. The store has a selection of piñatas as well as wall crosses for the home.

For more information, visit eljerkyloco.com.