Iconic Silva’s Super Market in south El Paso to close after 101 years of family operation
EL PASO, Texas -- An iconic south El Paso family-owned grocery store will close its doors at year's end after over a century in business.
The Silva family announced Wednesday that Silva’s Super Market will go out of business come Dec. 31.
“Our customers have been very good to us and we have tried to be good to our neighbors in return. We cannot thank them enough. Also, we couldn’t have done it without our many employees currently working and those that have worked with us over the years. (But) it’s time for my family to retire from the grocery business,” said owner Martin Silva, who noted that many of his current employees have been with the store for three decades.
It was 1918 when family patriarch Jose Felix Silva first opened the grocery store in the Segundo Barrio neighborhood under the name El Faro. It became Silva’s Market in 1925 and combined with another store owned by Silva's son in 1953 to become Silva's Super Market.
Over the market's 101-year history, it became known in particular for its fresh meat, offering one of the best butcher shops and butcher apprenticeship programs in the community.
