Photos by Jamie Plain
Once a small Hispanic grocery store, La Veracruzana grown into one of Owensboro’s most recognizable destinations for authentic Mexican cuisine, drawing customers from across western Kentucky and beyond.
La Veracruzana, located at 2229 New Hartford Road in Owensboro, traces its roots back to 2008 when founder Antonio Diaz opened a grocery store in Beaver Dam. Four years later, he expanded into Owensboro, bringing with him a vision of providing products and foods that were difficult to find locally at the time.
Today, the business includes both a grocery store and a restaurant, operated by Diaz’s sons, Antonio Diaz Jr. and Richard Diaz, who grew up helping in the family business and now help manage its day-to-day operations.
When the Owensboro location first opened in 2012, it functioned primarily as a grocery store serving the area’s Hispanic community. The family later added the restaurant, which helped broaden its customer base.
“Our main demographic used to mostly be Hispanic,” Antonio Diaz Jr. said. “Then we kind of realized there’s more to it than just serving one group. The restaurant brought in people for the food, and eventually they started looking more at the store as well, and it just kind of bloomed from there.”
Over the years, La Veracruzana expanded both physically and operationally. The business added additional retail space around 2019, converting what had once been storage space into an expanded grocery area. More recently, the family renovated the restaurant and created a dedicated dining room separate from the store.
The grocery side of the business offers traditional Hispanic products, fresh produce, spices, condiments, baked goods, religious items, cookware, and a full-service butcher shop featuring cuts and products often difficult to find elsewhere.
The restaurant has built a reputation around authentic Mexican cuisine rather than Tex-Mex fare, according to the brothers.
“What separates our place from most Mexican restaurants around here is that we serve authentic Mexican food,” Antonio Diaz Jr. said. “Most places around here are usually Tex-Mex. We try to serve more authentic tacos, gorditas, tortas, sopes, tamales, and traditional meats.”
Many of the products served in the restaurant are prepared in-house, including seasonings, chorizo, sauces, and specialty meats. The restaurant also offers traditional weekend specialties, including menudo, seafood soup, beef stew, fresh tamales, and house-made chicharrones.
Richard Diaz said watching the business grow has been especially meaningful because it fulfills a dream his father carried with him after immigrating to the United States.
“It just makes me proud of my dad because it was always his dream to have his own business,” Richard Diaz said. “He came to the United States in 1998 and started working in restaurants as a dishwasher. Then he worked his way up and became a chef.”
Richard Diaz believes the business helped introduce a style of Mexican dining that was uncommon in the area at the time.
“There wasn’t really a taqueria around here,” he said. “My dad said, ‘I’m going to make a taqueria,’ and eventually more places opened. But I think we were kind of pioneers.”
The restaurant now serves customers from a wide range of backgrounds. The brothers said regular customers travel from cities including Evansville, Henderson, and Hopkinsville, while others have discovered the restaurant through social media and word-of-mouth recommendations.
The restaurant has also earned praise from local chefs and food enthusiasts for its authenticity and homemade approach.
While the business remains family-owned and relatively small, employing about seven people total, the Diaz family has managed to maintain long-term relationships with employees. Some staff members have been with the business for a decade or more.
The brothers credit much of the restaurant’s growth to customer loyalty and community support.
“It’s not something that happened overnight,” Antonio Diaz Jr. said. “It took a long period of time to get where it is. We’re glad we can say we have the customers that we have. Everyone really appreciates what we do, and we’re always trying to get bigger and better.”
Despite its growth, the family has stayed committed to closing on Sundays, a decision rooted in their father’s desire to spend time with family and attend church together.
Looking ahead, the brothers said they would like to continue expanding the business and have discussed the possibility of a larger grocery concept someday. For now, their focus remains on serving customers, improving the current location, and maintaining the authenticity that helped establish La Veracruzana’s reputation.
“We welcome everybody,” Antonio Diaz Jr. said. “Sometimes people get intimidated coming in, but we’re always here to help. If anyone has questions, we’re glad to help with whatever they need.” OL
