It is the first Farm Stores in Texas, franchised by Katy resident Jose Argüello. A Miami native, Argüello said the concept has been a popular chain in Florida for more than 60 years, and he has imagined it being successful in Texas since he moved here from Florida. When he heard it would be expanding to the area, Argüello immediately jumped on the opportunity.
“When I moved to Texas, I thought we had to have [Farm Stores] here,” Argüello said. “I actually think it fits better here than Miami. When I found out that it was opening here, I found out through Facebook, and I called right away. It happened to be a mile away from my house.”
Farm Stores offers a variety of food staples, including milk, coffee, bread, pasta sauce, eggs, sugar and more—but its menu expands to less common items such as empanadas, cachitos, cheese bread, tequenos and even to-go mimosas made with fresh orange juice squeezed right in front of the customer.
“We have a lot of what I would call ‘South American delights,’” Argüello said. “We are more of a salty-type, savory bakery than a sweet-type bakery. ... We have doughnuts and cinnamon rolls but so much more. We also have great coffee.”
Argüello said Farm Stores aims to bridge the gap between errands and convenience.
“It’s not just a convenience store,” Argüello said. “When your kids are sleeping in the back, it’s snowing, raining. ... You can still just go get some milk. You know where the milk is in most supermarkets—it’s located in the back of the store. Then you have to run back to get in line, and then you have to go back to your car.”
One of Farm Stores’ biggest appeals outside of its practical drive-thru design, Argüello said, is the availability of top brands and high-quality products that are competitively priced against other convenience and drug stores.
“We carry the top of brands, like Borden,” Argüello said. “And we sell it for $4.59. ... CVS has it for five bucks and Oak Farms—it’s not even Borden. The gas stations sell it for more, and it’s not even Borden.”
While Farm Stores is new to the neighborhood, it is already looking forward to the future—rolling out new features and products. Argüello said Farm Stores will launch a phone application soon that will offer curbside pickup. He also said Farm Stores plans on expanding to delivery platforms such as UberEats, GrubHub and Postmates.
Argüello said he also plans on expanding the menu to include items such as pizza, hot dogs, paninis, deli sandwiches and more in the next couple of months. He also plans to expand the store’s hours to open earlier and close later.
