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Rachael Gutierrez Kelley feels rightfully at home at Art's Mexican Products Inc. Kelley, who owns the food company with her brother and mother, was born down the street from its home in the Armourdale district of Kansas City; Kan.
The heavily Hispanic neighborhood, where Spanish is as common as English on restaurant and store signs, was mostly residential before the 1951 floods, Kelley said. She was born on Fourth Street, in her grandmother's house, and has childhood memories of the old days.
Today, the area is heavily commercial.
Art's, named after Kelley's father, who died in February 2001, has become a landmark at 615 Kansas Ave., its address for more than 35 years.
Kelley makes sure visitors feel like family when they stop in the small store that fronts the plant where the company's products are made.
She spent about 10 minutes one recent afternoon with Josephine Torres, a longtime customer. Accompanied by her daughter, Anna Graves, Torres bought corn husks and other ingredients for a Saturday dinner of tamales. Torres, who lives in Kansas City, said Kelley's personal touch keeps her coming back.
"I've always known about them," she said. "When we make stuff, we know where to get it."
Kelley said the store immerses the company in its community. Most customers are regulars, and their word-of-mouth efforts provide endorsements that are invaluable because their credibility is beyond reproach.
Weekends are busiest at the store. People come in for such specialties as menudo, a beef-based soup that's sold by the ladle. Kelley takes credit for the family recipe but acknowledged another reason for its appeal.
"It's wonderful for hangovers," she said. "That's why we sell it on weekends. It does straighten out your stomach."
The company's outreach also includes sponsorships of...