Mark White knows tortillas, but must not know Spanish. That’s
what first-time Hispanic customers think when they visit Athens’
first tortilla factory. White named his business Tortillas Blanco
because blanco means white and represents his name.
“At first, they tell me it’s supposed to be Tortillas Blancas,”
the plural form,
White
said. “Then I explain about my last name, and they smile and
understand.” White, 26, and his wife, April, 21, operate the
business. They opened in October on Frazier Street after White
found inspiration from childhood memories.
White’s grandfather was a Church of Christ preacher who did
mission work with ministers in Mexico. His grandfather grew up on
a cotton gin in Texas and spoke what White called Spanglish, a
mixture of English and Spanish. “I would go with him, and the
families we stayed with would have the best food,” White said.
“Each town had tortillerias where the women would buy fresh
tortillas for their meals.” Tortillas, White said, are to
Hispanics what biscuits are to Southerners. So White, a former walk-on
kicker at Alabama and the University of North Alabama, a former
reserve officer and a former insurance salesman, decided to open a
tortilla business. He bought a former Alcoholics Anonymous
building in northern Athens.
“There’s not anything like this in the area, and we have a large
Hispanic community living here,” White said. He found a similar
tortilla operation in Oregon by doing research on the Internet.
Mario Huerta, the owner of Tortillas La Sierra, invited White and
his wife to tour his facility. Huerta shared his recipes and
helped the couple find needed equipment, such as an oven and
press.
The Whites make corn tortillas, the most popular item, cinnamon
chips from tortillas, flour tortillas and, for the health
conscious, wheat tortillas. They also offer a lunch and dinner
menu of tacos and burritos. “A lot of people laughed when I
started the business,” White said. “One guy said, ‘You think
Hispanics are going to buy tortillas from you?’ ” But people are
buying tortillas, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. It
reported to The Associated Press that annual tortilla sales are at
about $1.5 billion, and those numbers don’t include sales from
small, independent businesses and restaurants.
White said the Hispanic community has welcomed his business for
two reasons. First, he said, store-bought tortillas leave an
aftertaste. “Naturally, they aren’t near as good as homemade,”
White said. Second, he is saving Hispanic women time from cooking.
“If the women were making them at home, they would have to pat out
the dough by hand and press them,” White said. “They could be
making them all day to have enough for their family. The women
tell me they’re glad I’m saving them the trouble of doing that.”
He sells in bulk for fiestas and other parties and to restaurants,
including one that uses the flour tortillas to make chicken and
dumplings. April White said they have an occasional language
barrier. Hispanic children will translate for their parents. Her
husband knows some conversational Spanish as well. April also
keeps a cheat sheet of Spanish words taped near the walk-up
window.
White hopes the business will grow so he’ll have to hire
employees, and he can expand and have a warehouse. The couple now
operates the business alone Monday through Saturday. White said
his late grandfather, the preacher, would have been pleased with
his business inspiration. “He always had strong relationship with
the families and preachers he visited in Mexico,” White said. “I
think he would be tickled to see me doing this.”
You can now buy our famous "Blanco's Plain & Cinnamon
Chips" in stores.
Killen
Foodland (Hwy 72)
West End Outdoors Chevron (Hwy 72 Athens)
Warren's BP (Hwy 72 Rogersville
Elgin Foodland
Store is Located at 2861 Highway 101 Elgin, Al
256-247-1958
Rogersville Foodland Store 16143 Highway 72
Rogersville, AL 35652 256-247-1805
Visit our
Blog at
www.tortillasblanco.blogspot.com
&
www.delmoredays.com website.
Our hours are:
Monday - Friday 10:30AM to 6:00PM
Wednesday
10:30AM from till 3:00PM
Saturday 10:30AM till 3:00PM
Directions to the Athens location:
Hwy 72 to Jefferson - north to Market Street (North side of
court house)
on right just before the railroad tracks.
