El Popular Inc.
Family’s secret recipe, integrity flavor 100 years of company’s success
With just about a century in business, El Popular’s Edward Garza is often posed a profound question: How have you been around for 100 years?
“You can say it is the product, the flavor profile and that’s a good part of it,” Garza said of the business that will mark 100 years of producing Mexican food products in January 2025. “The more I thought about it, it’s also my grandfather (Vicente) – his integrity and my uncles’ integrity. How you deal with people comes back to you.”
Edward is the third generation of El Popular that was launched by Vicente in 1925. He migrated from Mexico and began mixing up the family’s spice blend in foods to sell at the steel mills along the Indiana Harbor area of East Chicago. 
“He saw the opportunity to provide a lot of the foods from his country,” Edward said. “He eventually opened up a storefront and manufactured El Popular’s core hallmark items, including chorizo, chocolate, mole sauce and Mexican queso cheese. He would load up his products in his Model T to sell on the street corners in Chicago.”
Of his eight children, Vicente’s four sons, Richard, Vicente, Jesse and Arthur, expanded the business as a wholesale Mexican food business with hundreds of products. Over the years, Edward’s father, Richard, took over as sole owner and Edward became a key component of the company.
“I became involved when I was 9 years old. On weekends, I would mix up the spices that are my family’s secret recipe,” he said. “I worked during holidays and summer vacations, and after I got out of college, I took over from my father full-time.”
In 2002, when Edward became the CEO, he pivoted the business back to its roots by solely focusing on the core products. Today, El Popular offers a variety of its signature chorizo, including chicken, pork, plant-based, mild and super picante.
“We were originally just retail products, but now go through distributors and have become very strong in the restaurant trade,” Edward said. “We cover most of the U.S. and Canada and are venturing into places like Japan and South Korea. We are growing.”
In 2011, former Gov. Mitch Daniels recognized El Popular as the oldest Mexican business in Indiana and it is believed the business is also the oldest Mexican business in the U.S.
“We had no idea before the recognition and the next day we were back to doing what we do. It’s a great recognition, but we still have to punch in tomorrow,” Edward said. “I hope to stay in the sales end of the business and be the face of the company. I love doing what I do.”
El Popular Inc.
910 E. Chicago Ave. in East Chicago