Sedano’s Supermarkets: 10 fun facts

Think you know everything about Sedano’s, the country’s biggest Hispanic retail store chain? Think again! 

If you are like most Floridians – Puerto Rican, Cuban, Venezuelan, or from any Latin American country – you know Sedano’s. It’s the one store where instantly upon entering you feel right “en casa”! 

That’s because as soon as you enter this friendly bodega, you can hear the distinctive accents of its Spanish-speaking customers as they chat up the cajera or ask an employee where to find dulce de guayaba or if the freshly baked Cuban bread is out of the oven. 

You can also smell the delicious aroma of a strong cortadito coffee and, most importantly, you can find everything you need to recreate authentic Latin cuisine using all fresh ingredients, just like abuela did back home.

But even though you may think you’re familiar with your neighborhood Sedano’s, there are many fun and interesting facts you may not know about the country’s biggest Hispanic retail store chain. Here are ten!

Fact #1

In 1961, Cuban exile René Sedano opened the first Sedano’s store, a 4,000-square-foot bodega in Hialeah, Florida, mainly serving the newly arrived Cuban community who had fled the island after Fidel Castro’s takeover in 1959. 

Fact #2

In 1962, Armando Guerra Sr., another Cuban exile who was also fleeing Cuba, bought the store from its original owner but decided to keep the name. 

Fact #3

Today, Sedano’s stores can be found across the state, and the company has grown to serve diverse communities across the Sunshine State with 35 stores in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Orange counties. 

Fact #4

In 2020, Sedano’s Supermarkets was named Food and Wine’s 20 Best Regional Supermarket Chains of All Time.

Fact #5

That delicious aroma that hits you as soon as you enter any one of the stores is the enticing smell of  Cuban bread, empanadas, and pastelitos baked in Sedano’s onsite bakeries and kitchens.

Fact #6

Respectful of the past but always looking towards the future, in 2018, Sedano’s Supermarkets announced a partnership with Takeoff Technologies to debut the first-of-its-kind automated storage and retrieval system. The robotic store can prepare over 1,500 items per hour, completing a 60-item order in 5 minutes. 

Fact #7

In 2020, a partnership between Sedano’s and emblematic Cuban-owned restaurants Versailles and La Carreta helped save hundreds of employees’ jobs due to the lockdowns across Florida because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative won several awards.

Fact #8

Famous Colombian-American television chef Ingrid Hoffman, host of the Food Network series “Simply Delicioso,” has sponsored Sedano’s. 

Fact #9

Sedano’s is your supermarket with a heart. As a Community Partner of the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, its mission is to bring awareness and raise funds for cancer research.

Fact #10

In 2024 Sedano’s will celebrate its 61st anniversary as the neighborhood store that brings the flavors of home to Latinos across the state!

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

RELATED: 5 Top Puerto Rican Markets in Florida