Diverse shop offers variety of hard-to-find options

An old man once told Noel Esquivel that any new shop he opens should feature "a little bit of everything."

So Esquivel cut no corners three years ago when opening La Chaparrita Meat Market in Leander.

The multifaceted storefront features produce, multicultural snacks and even a taqueria, or taco shop.

"It's a one-stop shop," Esquivel said. "We're still filling it up every day with more and more."

But the heart of the store, he said, is the meat counter. La Chaparrita offers 32 choices of meat, some of which are soaked in up to 12 choices of homemade marinades.

Two full-time butchers cut custom meat orders, Esquivel said. People enjoy getting just the right amount of meat, he said, while most other stores often prepackage their orders.

Although the heart of the operation is the meat market, customers are also drawn to the taqueria shop, Esquivel said. In fact, for those immediate cravings, the butcher can send meat orders immediately to the kitchen to be cooked by the chef.

"That's just part of our business," he said. "It's just a way to say thanks to our customers at no extra charge."

The taco shop attracts many regulars, co-owner Olivia Esquivel said. She and Noel, her husband of 15 years, also own a similar shop at Jonestown before branching out to Leander.

There is also an exotic produce section that features items rarely seen at traditional grocers, with much of the items shipped fresh from southern California and Mexico, Esquivel said.

In addition, the store features a mini convenience store with several aisles lined with foods from throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Some of the novelty food items come from as far south as Honduras, he said, making it difficult to find anywhere else.

"My mission is to bring the Latino people of South America stuff they grew up with and help to make them feel as much at home as I possibly can," Esquivel said.

Buy meat in bulk

La Chaparrita Meat Market offers customers several packages of meet at a discounted rate perfect for Labor Day weekend.

• Five pounds of pierna y muslo marinada (marinated chicken legs)
• Five pounds of fajita nortena (thinly sliced beef)
• Five pounds of fajita de pollo (thinly sliced chicken)
• Five pounds of costilla (marinated ribs)
• One package Eckridge smoked sausage

La Chaparrita Meat Market, 1909 S. US 183, Leander, 259-0584