Daniel Johnson and Ricardo Hernandez Espinoza have quite a bit in common. They are entrepreneurs; took a risk to open their own business; started small and have big dreams. And they both enjoy bringing smiles to their customers and helping create a better world.
Following the unrest in 2020 and COVID, Mall of America created a 5,000 square foot space called Community Commons. It was a retail collective created to help support BIPOC owned business that had been hurt by these two events. It was a space for these businesses to establish themselves, gain exposure to millions of guests and rebuild their dreams. That’s where Daniel and Ricardo met – along with dozens of other impacted business owners and entrepreneurs.
Community Commons was open for more than two years and helped dozens of small businesses. Many of these businesses have opened their own in-line spaces at Mall of America including Johnson, owner of LEVELS Fashion (level 3 near Nordstrom) and Hernandez Espinoza, owner of La Michoacana Purepecha (level 2 near the Rotunda.) Led in conversation by host Jill Renslow, both Daniel and Ricardo share stories of their professional journeys, what it means to be located at Mall of America + their dreams for future growth…and those dreams are big!
Guests: Daniel Johnson, owner of LEVELS Fashions, and Ricardo Hernandez Espinoza, owner of La Michoacana Purepecha.
Host: Jill Renslow; Daniel Jasper
Presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau the official destination marketing organization for the city of Bloomington, Minn.
[00:00:00] Mall of America for more than 30 years, it has been a retail leader and an international destination and it remains the largest mall in the U.S.
[00:00:08] Not to mention it welcomes millions of guests from around the world. It's huge, but it's also so much more.
[00:00:15] In this podcast you're going to hear the real stories of how it started and why it continues to thrive.
[00:00:20] You'll hear about challenges we've faced along the way and what you can learn from them.
[00:00:25] We will feature guests and experts from all walks of life and business and along the way you'll laugh, learn and maybe even change the way you look at things.
[00:00:33] So if you're a fan of the mall, a brand new visitor, an entrepreneur or a dreamer, prepare to dive deep into so much more.
[00:00:41] This podcast is presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau.
[00:00:45] Hi everybody and welcome to So Much More.
[00:00:47] Today's podcast is hosted by yours truly, Jill Renzloh and I have my co-host Dan Jasper, our SVP of MOA Press.
[00:00:54] Hi Jill.
[00:00:54] Hi Dan.
[00:00:55] How you doing?
[00:00:55] You excited for this conversation?
[00:00:57] I am really excited plus I'm looking at the treats on the table.
[00:00:59] It is great. So fans, we have two fantastic entrepreneurs with us today who we met through Community Commons which you'll learn a little bit more later.
[00:01:08] But I want to introduce you to Daniel Johnson who is the owner of Levels.
[00:01:12] They sell urban and designer streetwear.
[00:01:15] We also have Ricardo Hernandez Espinoza who owns La Muchicana Perrepecha
[00:01:21] and that includes treats from the Mexican specialties.
[00:01:24] So you're seeing some of those treats in front of us which Dan and I are going to have to hold ourselves back so we don't dive into those.
[00:01:29] But we're super excited to introduce you to these two gentlemen because they have the hearts of gold.
[00:01:35] They have really helped elevate small businesses here at Mall of America.
[00:01:39] And a lot of people look at Mall of America looking at us with big brands, the retail brands that everyone recognizes.
[00:01:46] But truly the heart and soul of Mall of America is about our small businesses.
[00:01:50] And we have dozens of them and people don't realize that.
[00:01:53] But they're really those special niche products and brands that you stumble across when you're here at the mall and really make it special.
[00:02:01] And so super excited to talk with you these guys today because they started with us at Community Commons.
[00:02:05] And this was a retail collaborative which brought in small businesses and entrepreneurs together to be able to benefit from what Mall of America has to offer.
[00:02:14] The exposure, the guests, the energy, our expertise that we could bring to these small entrepreneurs.
[00:02:20] And what's great is both of you have places here at the mall on your own as entrepreneurs that are open here today.
[00:02:27] So we're here to tell our fans all about your stories, all about your stories so that they come and visit you the next time they come to Mall of America.
[00:02:33] So let's start off with you, Ricardo.
[00:02:36] Tell us your story. How did it all begin? And what is it like today at Mall of America?
[00:02:41] Well, I mean our story starts from way, way back.
[00:02:44] I mean, I have always had a dream to open up a business.
[00:02:49] So it's been a long time.
[00:02:51] But anyways, so for me, I thought about this for probably, I don't know, probably 20 years ago.
[00:03:00] You know, I used to work for a company for 16 years.
[00:03:03] This was the third largest printing company in the country.
[00:03:09] We got bought out by another company.
[00:03:11] And at the end of 2017, once I had made up my mind to start up a business, you know, they called us in to a meeting and told us they were going to close the company.
[00:03:25] So this was perfect for me.
[00:03:26] It was perfect.
[00:03:27] You know, we got a good severance package.
[00:03:29] And so I was able to focus on opening up the business while I was still getting paid and had benefits.
[00:03:35] So, you know, that was great.
[00:03:38] So, and then in 2018 in January, we started construction at 701 East Lakeshore in Minneapolis.
[00:03:46] And then we opened the shop for the first time June 16 of 2018.
[00:03:52] And since then we've been making so many people happy with our product.
[00:03:55] That's great.
[00:03:56] So you shifted from the printing industry to the retail dining.
[00:04:00] It is amazing.
[00:04:01] Let me tell you, I used to print a magazine that actually we've been in that magazine a couple of times.
[00:04:06] My shop has been in that magazine a couple of times.
[00:04:08] That's fantastic.
[00:04:09] So yeah, I mean to be courageous to follow your dream and do something completely.
[00:04:14] Yeah.
[00:04:15] And you know, that's that's what I mean.
[00:04:17] You know, sometimes, you know, it's a sad story that the company closed.
[00:04:20] You know, it's a sad story for a lot of people, but for me, it worked out perfect.
[00:04:25] You know, it was the right timing and everything.
[00:04:27] So it worked out great.
[00:04:29] One door closed and another one opened.
[00:04:30] Yeah, correct.
[00:04:31] Correct.
[00:04:32] Negative things turning them into a positive thing.
[00:04:34] And that's that's that's what we did.
[00:04:36] That is great.
[00:04:37] Yeah, well, Daniel, let's hear your story.
[00:04:39] So you have quite the retail brand that has hit the the market by storm.
[00:04:45] Everybody loves it.
[00:04:46] So tell us your story.
[00:04:47] Oh, well, my story comes from I grew up in the entrepreneurial household.
[00:04:53] My mother and father were always just into, you know, just entrepreneurship and just teaching
[00:04:59] us basically to work for something.
[00:05:02] And most of all, work for ourselves.
[00:05:04] So they trained us like from early on, like we didn't like it.
[00:05:08] Me and my siblings with my siblings and I, we did not like it.
[00:05:11] It was take these peanuts on this red wagon and go out and you know, and so we're
[00:05:17] with the remember the stripe bags, the peanut bag that we're around walking.
[00:05:21] And we have to see if people want to buy them.
[00:05:23] So we would end up selling all the candy and peanuts and come home and, you
[00:05:28] know, put the money there out on the bed.
[00:05:31] And my father would separate and break all the money up and then give it to us like,
[00:05:35] okay, now you earned the money.
[00:05:37] So we'll take that money and go and buy the candy that we didn't see around the house.
[00:05:41] Right.
[00:05:42] So, uh, and my mom, my mom was a beautician.
[00:05:47] So she, you know, had her salon and, you know, we'll go there and sweep
[00:05:51] floors and just do whatever we can just to, you know, feel it.
[00:05:55] I now that I'm older, I understand what they were doing.
[00:05:57] They were, you know, just instilling it in us and just ownership, especially
[00:06:02] growing up in poverty where, you know, we didn't have anything and people
[00:06:06] around us, but we were just rich on love.
[00:06:09] So I started into entertainment more and entertainment and fashion goes hand
[00:06:16] in hand.
[00:06:16] So as far as levels, the original concept started over a decade ago between
[00:06:21] the relative and I and over the years, we ended up having different
[00:06:26] visions that led us on different paths.
[00:06:28] So, um, in recent years, I was able to be blessed enough to be in two retail
[00:06:34] malls and just be introduced to the mall landscape, which is not for the week,
[00:06:39] but it is a total blessing.
[00:06:41] You know, so, uh, I was, I started in Apache mall in Rochester, uh,
[00:06:47] started just from a pop up and the brand just took off and grew and I got
[00:06:53] the opportunity to get in the community comments and since then, uh,
[00:06:57] it's just been unimaginable.
[00:06:59] The, um, the heights that we've climbed.
[00:07:02] Uh, we just last year was awarded, uh, honored from the United States
[00:07:07] Chamber as America's top business.
[00:07:08] We were top 10 in the Midwest.
[00:07:10] Oh, yeah.
[00:07:11] Wow.
[00:07:11] Awesome.
[00:07:12] Yeah.
[00:07:12] Oh, for building back from nothing.
[00:07:14] So it's, it's, we just, I'm just happy to be here.
[00:07:17] I'm just blessed to be here.
[00:07:18] And, um, that's my start of the story, but my story is still being
[00:07:23] rolled out right now.
[00:07:24] Like, you know, everyone's so you have to rewind a little bit.
[00:07:27] You talked a little about music.
[00:07:29] Did I learn that you were a hip hop artist?
[00:07:32] Yeah.
[00:07:34] Are you going to entertain us a little bit today?
[00:07:37] You know, I was all right.
[00:07:38] I started out as being an artist.
[00:07:40] Uh, my father was a singer and, you know, he ran around with
[00:07:45] like all the groups and taking pictures with the Jackson fives
[00:07:50] and all of this.
[00:07:51] And I grew up in the house full of plenty siblings.
[00:07:53] So we thought we were the Johnson five, you know, so we were
[00:07:57] in there performing and having sing-offs.
[00:08:00] I can't hold the note, you know, but I was trying.
[00:08:03] So I ended up, uh, you know, dabbling and dabbling in
[00:08:07] the hip hop world.
[00:08:08] And then I just started managing artists because I was
[00:08:13] just a better coach versus the player to me, right?
[00:08:17] And I was able to work with Def Jam records and Universal just
[00:08:21] in 2018.
[00:08:22] So from 2018 until 2020 when the world shut down from COVID
[00:08:26] and many other things, uh, it's just when I just really
[00:08:30] focused on, uh, the fashion part, you know, you get a lot
[00:08:34] of time to reflect and sit in the house and wish for the
[00:08:37] day you can get back outside and dress and, you know, go
[00:08:40] out and I was just like, Hey, this is what I'm going
[00:08:42] to do. I'm going to, you know, not spread myself so thin.
[00:08:45] So I just been on this fashion journey and I'm here
[00:08:48] seeing what you guys know.
[00:08:50] That's great.
[00:08:50] Thank you for sharing.
[00:08:52] You didn't know that was coming.
[00:08:53] So
[00:08:55] we like a couple surprises.
[00:08:57] So Ricardo walk us through what the experience is with
[00:09:01] your brand when customers walk through the door at
[00:09:04] your space.
[00:09:05] What can they expect?
[00:09:06] And what is that experience like happiness?
[00:09:09] Happiness.
[00:09:10] I mean, obviously, you know, that's what we sell, you know,
[00:09:12] happiness, joy, smiles, you know, when people try a product,
[00:09:16] you know, when you see them for the first time, trying it,
[00:09:19] taking that first bite, you know, and you can just tell
[00:09:22] how happy they are to try that product.
[00:09:27] It's amazing.
[00:09:27] I mean, obviously when people walk into our shop, you
[00:09:31] know, it's what you expect from us is quality,
[00:09:35] freshness, obviously, you know, it's, uh, everything
[00:09:39] is freshly made on a daily basis.
[00:09:41] Um, you know, the, the pride my employees take into making
[00:09:46] the product, you know, we're about 16 employees right now.
[00:09:49] And they've every single one of them does an amazing job.
[00:09:53] But what they do when they they do it with so much love,
[00:09:56] you know, that you know, you can't, you can't beat it.
[00:09:59] You know,
[00:09:59] you have tasty products at your shop.
[00:10:01] I've been in there more than once.
[00:10:03] I might add in front of us.
[00:10:05] We have three delicious looking samples right in front of
[00:10:08] me. What is this one that looks all creamy and has a beautiful
[00:10:11] strawberry on top?
[00:10:12] Yeah, that is strawberries with cream.
[00:10:14] That is one of our top sellers.
[00:10:15] You know, that's an amazing product.
[00:10:17] I have dibs on that one.
[00:10:18] Those are delicious.
[00:10:20] Delicious.
[00:10:22] And in the middle, what do we have?
[00:10:23] We have Mexican styles with corn in a cup.
[00:10:26] There is corn.
[00:10:26] And it's beautiful.
[00:10:27] There's cream and corn.
[00:10:29] That might be a little bit on the hot side for me,
[00:10:32] but you know, it is, it is.
[00:10:33] It's spicy.
[00:10:34] They might have put a little bit extra chili powder.
[00:10:37] And next to that, we have this festive orange and red looking concoction.
[00:10:42] What have we got there?
[00:10:43] The most amazing mango now that you can find out there.
[00:10:45] Oh, so that is mango ice cream with chamoy lime chili powder.
[00:10:50] And you are known for ice cream, correct?
[00:10:52] Oh yeah, correct.
[00:10:52] It's amazing.
[00:10:53] We have 37 flavors of ice cream right now.
[00:10:56] And from time to time with with witch it up a little bit depends on the
[00:11:00] the season.
[00:11:01] And you know, we have over 70 70 flavors,
[00:11:06] popsicle flavors.
[00:11:07] Wow.
[00:11:08] Some of those are very unique, you know, very, you know, some folks that have
[00:11:11] come up to me and they're like, you know, I haven't had this kind of
[00:11:15] popsicle in 25 years, 20 years and made with good ingredients.
[00:11:20] You know, very unique, you know, you have sour, you have dragon fruit,
[00:11:25] you got passion fruit, Mame.
[00:11:28] Yeah.
[00:11:29] Yes, please.
[00:11:30] One other one is specifically speaking, Zapote.
[00:11:32] That is kind of more from our home state in Mexico, Michoacán.
[00:11:38] You know, and some people haven't had it in years.
[00:11:41] I love it.
[00:11:42] You know, you can't you just can't find that anywhere around here.
[00:11:45] You know, so talk a little bit about the name.
[00:11:47] I was very careful of how to pronounce it, but it's not an easy
[00:11:50] thing.
[00:11:50] So what's the origin of the name?
[00:11:53] So Michoacán is, you know, that's where I'm from, Michoacán,
[00:11:56] the home state back home.
[00:11:58] Porepecha is our indigenous people from the state of Michoacán.
[00:12:01] Well, part of Michoacán and that is actually a language back
[00:12:06] home too, which is a beautiful language.
[00:12:07] I wish I knew how to speak it, but I don't unfortunately.
[00:12:12] But you know, we are part of the indigenous people of the
[00:12:14] state of Michoacán.
[00:12:15] So and that's that's why we decided to go with Porepecha.
[00:12:19] That's great.
[00:12:20] And you have an audience that has followed you from your
[00:12:23] location, Lake Street to Mall of America, but you've also
[00:12:26] opened up to a new audience and have been exposed to our
[00:12:29] broader base of guests here at Mall of America.
[00:12:32] What has that been like?
[00:12:33] Well, I mean, obviously, you know, if I start from scratch,
[00:12:38] you know, we started, we opened the one in Lake Street
[00:12:41] Minneapolis back in 2018.
[00:12:45] And then we opened our second shop and in St. Paul in 2020
[00:12:49] during COVID, August of 2020.
[00:12:53] So right during COVID.
[00:12:55] And then from there, we opened in September.
[00:12:58] We opened our Egan location.
[00:13:00] And after that, we opened our Mall of America location in
[00:13:05] 2021 and we were here to stay now.
[00:13:08] So we're here.
[00:13:10] And then our Alverville location.
[00:13:12] It has been a little challenging obviously because
[00:13:16] you know, when you first start up, you know, you try
[00:13:18] to do everything yourself, but it's impossible.
[00:13:20] It's impossible.
[00:13:21] So but now we have built a great team of from,
[00:13:25] you know, the people that come in at 5am in the morning to
[00:13:29] to cut to start cutting the fruit vegetables and all that
[00:13:32] stuff. So they're nice and fresh for the day.
[00:13:36] So it has been a little hard, but you know, it's we have
[00:13:40] learned that, you know, little steps, we take little steps
[00:13:43] and we continue.
[00:13:44] We continue to grow, you know,
[00:13:46] yeah, life of an entrepreneur, right?
[00:13:47] Correct.
[00:13:48] You have to learn to do everything and you work
[00:13:50] long hours and sometimes we learn the hard ways.
[00:13:53] So yeah.
[00:13:54] So well, we first had a chance to meet you through
[00:13:56] Community Commons and it's definitely a project that
[00:13:58] we've been very proud of over the years and working
[00:14:01] with small businesses and bringing you together.
[00:14:03] You guys obviously met through that program and you
[00:14:05] met a lot of other small business owners.
[00:14:08] Daniel talk a little bit about your experience in
[00:14:10] Community Commons and how that exposed you to
[00:14:12] Mall of America and invited you to stay.
[00:14:15] Yeah.
[00:14:15] So we just jumped and was hoping to fly versus fall
[00:14:22] luckily we flew.
[00:14:24] We were like I said, we were previously before that
[00:14:28] introduced to the mall landscape from Apache Mall
[00:14:31] in Rochester.
[00:14:32] So we were five minutes away from the Mayo Clinic.
[00:14:35] So we got a lot of people from all over the world,
[00:14:38] but we did not imagine coming to Mall of America
[00:14:46] and just this is the best we could ask for for
[00:14:50] as far as getting your brand now for brand awareness
[00:14:53] and just the brand recognition.
[00:14:55] So we started there and hopes to have an inline store
[00:14:59] one day and like Ricardo said, you know, things get
[00:15:02] hard and you figure like us this for me and is it
[00:15:05] not and just we just worked hard and was blessed
[00:15:10] with our own inline space in the sense our inline
[00:15:13] is we just took off like we ship worldwide.
[00:15:17] We're just known for the quality of our fabrics and
[00:15:20] just good customer service and just you know, making
[00:15:24] people feel good because you know when you look good
[00:15:27] you feel good.
[00:15:27] So that's just been our journey is it's just been
[00:15:31] full of just putting out quality and making people
[00:15:34] just feel good about what you are investing in
[00:15:37] because of course clothes are an investment right.
[00:15:41] So community Commons we owe so much to them had
[00:15:45] we not been introduced to you know it was it was just
[00:15:50] so much more than just being out on the island by
[00:15:53] itself.
[00:15:55] We seen how they can go at other places, you know,
[00:15:59] but when we were told like yeah in the mall they'll
[00:16:02] help you this and they'll help you that we came
[00:16:04] in already figuring.
[00:16:05] Hell yeah, we're not you know we're prepared
[00:16:08] for us but the support that the mall give us
[00:16:13] and just everything it just we owe everything to
[00:16:16] yeah.
[00:16:17] So just this mall alone and my team and my family owe
[00:16:20] everything to I don't even know how to take the credit
[00:16:23] for stuff people like how did you do it and you and
[00:16:25] the mom like I'm still trying to figure it out too.
[00:16:28] I just know that you know God is good you know so
[00:16:31] we've been just getting blessed and that whole
[00:16:33] journey was a blessing and it was the perfect start
[00:16:37] to learning how this machine works here.
[00:16:42] You know if we would have just jumped in and just
[00:16:44] at a regular inline store we probably would you know
[00:16:47] don't know where we would end up so that's for sure.
[00:16:50] Yeah, it was the perfect training wheels to you
[00:16:53] know because this is you know the largest mall
[00:16:55] in the nation.
[00:16:56] So and the best tourist attraction mall so just
[00:16:59] to even have a smallest footprint here is good.
[00:17:02] So we started out with that small footprint
[00:17:04] and now we're in the 5500 square foot location.
[00:17:08] It's just unreal.
[00:17:08] So every day I wake up happy get up here and open
[00:17:11] these doors and you know it's hard to not smile
[00:17:14] and just be appreciative and grateful.
[00:17:16] Correct.
[00:17:17] We have to thank all of America Community Commons
[00:17:20] for doing what they did you know because I was
[00:17:23] that was incredible.
[00:17:24] I mean I'm not going to lie.
[00:17:25] I mean when I went to community Commons.
[00:17:28] We had a freezer full of popsicles and man
[00:17:31] or not as that's how we had you know and
[00:17:33] obviously this has to be maintained at a certain
[00:17:35] temperature you know it can't be at the same
[00:17:37] temperature as popsicles and you know that was
[00:17:41] it was crazy that we were community Commons.
[00:17:43] It was our clothes clothing stores you know
[00:17:46] and here we are like way in the back well
[00:17:49] not way in the back in the middle but the middle
[00:17:51] and we have a freezer full of popsicles and
[00:17:53] you know if you're buying clothes you're not
[00:17:56] looking to buy a popsicle you know what I mean.
[00:17:58] They look good though.
[00:17:59] So amazing too.
[00:18:01] So the employees are like Ricardo why are you
[00:18:03] even here you know you're not selling anything
[00:18:06] you know but thank God you know like but he said
[00:18:10] you know now we're in line store and we love it.
[00:18:13] We can't thank Mall of America enough for giving us
[00:18:16] the opportunity.
[00:18:17] Well I think one of the things I just have to
[00:18:19] jump in quick because I heard something from
[00:18:21] both of these gentlemen.
[00:18:23] You talk about your products a little bit but
[00:18:25] what you focused on Daniel you talked
[00:18:27] about bringing joy and happiness when people
[00:18:30] walk into your space right or Ricardo you
[00:18:33] did that and you spoke about helping people
[00:18:37] feel good and I think that's part of your success
[00:18:40] story right.
[00:18:41] You're not just focused on the product you're
[00:18:44] focused on how you can impact people's lives
[00:18:47] and bring value and happiness to them and I
[00:18:49] and personally I think that's part of why
[00:18:51] you're both really successful.
[00:18:52] Yeah and like I said you know we take so
[00:18:55] much pride in what we do and how we do it
[00:18:57] you know from from the beginning of the day
[00:19:01] until the end of the day you know to put
[00:19:02] a smile on people's faces you know so sometimes
[00:19:06] people come in maybe upset maybe sad and you
[00:19:10] know they kind of forget about whatever story
[00:19:13] this behind their day and you know they have
[00:19:16] one of our products and they love it.
[00:19:18] So I love that and we talk a lot about
[00:19:21] leading with our hearts and you both are
[00:19:23] great example of that because you're doing
[00:19:26] what feels good how you can connect with
[00:19:28] your customers and that was really the reason
[00:19:30] why we did community commons and why we set
[00:19:32] that up and to give a little bit more
[00:19:35] context behind that it was a collaborative
[00:19:37] retail space five thousand square feet where
[00:19:39] we brought in around 15 different brands
[00:19:42] they all had their own space within
[00:19:44] community commons was on the south side level
[00:19:46] two we ran it for about two years and there
[00:19:48] was four rotations of different brands
[00:19:50] but we handed over the keys and we said
[00:19:52] here you guys have space at Mall of America
[00:19:55] we want you to operate we want you to
[00:19:57] be able to explore what it's like to be
[00:19:59] exposed to our customers we want to lend
[00:20:01] our expertise from marketing social media
[00:20:05] merchandise design online marketing whatever
[00:20:08] that look like to help you succeed in this
[00:20:11] industry that we were all trying to figure
[00:20:13] out after COVID you know how are people
[00:20:14] going to shop retail so we needed to have
[00:20:17] that balance but to lead with our hearts
[00:20:19] and be able to connect with our customers
[00:20:21] and you talked about you know you're
[00:20:22] still trying to figure it out so are we
[00:20:24] you know every single day we're trying
[00:20:26] to figure it out because we're trying
[00:20:28] new things we wanted to connect with
[00:20:29] small businesses we want to continue to
[00:20:31] thrive in that space because we want to
[00:20:33] deliver a unique experience for a bid
[00:20:35] that walks through our doors and so I
[00:20:36] applaud both of you for being bold
[00:20:38] being courageous trying new things being
[00:20:40] part of our Mall of America community
[00:20:42] also bringing new things to the table
[00:20:44] so I mean I know you travel a ton to
[00:20:47] look at what's new what's you know
[00:20:49] for trends and things like that talk a
[00:20:51] little bit about that because it's
[00:20:52] really important in the retail industry
[00:20:54] to always be a step ahead of the
[00:20:55] consumers so that you're leading them
[00:20:57] to what they need to take a look at from
[00:20:59] a trend perspective yes absolutely
[00:21:01] well one thing that we do take serious
[00:21:05] is knowing that we are everyone and
[00:21:08] walk through that door we're part of
[00:21:10] their memories most people come to the
[00:21:12] mall for memory so we know we're not
[00:21:14] just representing levels we're
[00:21:15] representing families vacation their
[00:21:19] memories and then just the the legacy
[00:21:21] of Mall of America so we just try to
[00:21:23] make sure we give that elevated
[00:21:25] experience so it even had us step up
[00:21:29] our quality so I just left from China
[00:21:33] I've went all the way across the other
[00:21:35] side of the world just in search of the
[00:21:36] best quality that we can offer we're
[00:21:39] known for our quality already but you
[00:21:42] know there's always room to grow and
[00:21:45] really get better so I'm just excited
[00:21:48] for what we're doing this year you
[00:21:51] know every we always talk about the
[00:21:53] past and stuff but I'm just I can't
[00:21:54] stop smiling about the future and the
[00:21:57] things that we have lined up for everyone
[00:22:00] and just taking this brand and being a
[00:22:02] household brand name and you know just
[00:22:05] represent Mall of America proudly you
[00:22:08] know we wear it as a badge of honor
[00:22:09] you know it was funny being over in
[00:22:11] China and you know that's what we're
[00:22:13] telling them hey we're in the largest
[00:22:14] mall in the USA and they all of them
[00:22:17] you know eyes are big because they
[00:22:19] they want you know everybody wants
[00:22:21] a piece of this and you know if you
[00:22:23] hear every day you kind of can lose sight
[00:22:25] of that and say oh I'm in the mall but
[00:22:27] you know you have to always just say hey
[00:22:29] I'm in the biggest mall that we have to
[00:22:33] offer in this nation so it keeps a
[00:22:35] pep in your stuff and just keep you on
[00:22:38] your game and just making sure we're
[00:22:39] representing everything correctly you
[00:22:41] know and representing your community
[00:22:43] is important Ricardo I need a ton in
[00:22:45] your community you have a lot of stuff
[00:22:47] on your website about it talk about
[00:22:48] some of your community engagement
[00:22:50] well yeah you know like I said you
[00:22:51] know when I talked about the put
[00:22:52] apertures as you know that's our
[00:22:54] indigenous people from the state of
[00:22:55] Michoacan you know we try to represent
[00:22:58] our home state from back home or Mexico
[00:23:00] you know whether it's my home state
[00:23:02] or the whole country we always try to
[00:23:04] represent who we are where we come
[00:23:07] from you know we don't want to lose
[00:23:08] that you know we always want to
[00:23:10] people to know who who we are where
[00:23:12] we come from and you know and we
[00:23:16] want that's what that's the reason
[00:23:17] why we bring such an amazing product
[00:23:19] to to our customers these are all ideas
[00:23:23] from our home country back you know
[00:23:25] Mexico so you know you just we had so
[00:23:30] many so many comments from so many
[00:23:32] people saying you know I can't believe
[00:23:33] you guys are a Mall of America I can't
[00:23:35] believe that you're actually bringing
[00:23:37] me this popsicle this flavor popsicle
[00:23:39] to me where I haven't had it in so
[00:23:41] many years so you know that's kind
[00:23:44] of for those who have never been in
[00:23:46] your shop where are you located
[00:23:48] inside Mall of America so we're at
[00:23:51] unit East 284 inside Mall of America
[00:23:54] on the second floor right next to the
[00:23:56] rotunda so yeah anytime there is
[00:23:58] anything happening I'm all of America
[00:24:00] for shows or anything it gets really
[00:24:03] loud in his shop we are right there
[00:24:05] just look up to the second floor and
[00:24:06] you'll see our sign right there and
[00:24:08] yeah come on in and enjoy some of
[00:24:11] this and for those who've never been
[00:24:13] to your shop Daniel where are you
[00:24:14] located and what are what other
[00:24:16] products do you have is it all men's
[00:24:18] attire yeah so we are located on level
[00:24:21] three right next door to Nordstrom and
[00:24:25] we service people from all walks of
[00:24:27] life we specialize in men's wear for
[00:24:31] men women and kids so we have something
[00:24:33] for everyone in the family we have
[00:24:36] everything from hoodies to polos to
[00:24:39] t-shirts joggers shorts crossbody
[00:24:42] bag socks hats we just try to you
[00:24:45] know we're in this mall with a lot
[00:24:47] of competition and people can pick
[00:24:50] up over 500 stores so we try to make
[00:24:52] sure we keep something unique in our
[00:24:54] store so we can be chosen as well you
[00:24:56] know I have to go check it out oh yeah
[00:24:58] you have so many people come through
[00:25:02] with those I just shut the store down
[00:25:04] and go and get it I see a lot come
[00:25:07] with I guess walking around with these
[00:25:09] as well that I mean it's an amazing
[00:25:11] love it it's an amazing feeling to see
[00:25:13] them walk around with stuff like that
[00:25:15] around the world so to wrap us up
[00:25:17] what's next on your bucket list what is
[00:25:20] the future of your business when I go
[00:25:22] to you know I talk for our on what's
[00:25:26] next so so for me what's next is just
[00:25:29] furthering getting this brand to be
[00:25:33] again a household brand name I'm
[00:25:36] inspired every day that I walk past
[00:25:39] stores such as Nike and you know
[00:25:41] underarmament things of such and
[00:25:43] it's like you know I can do that I
[00:25:46] feel so good especially with the support
[00:25:48] that we do have that skies the limit
[00:25:51] for us and obviously we're hoping to be
[00:25:55] a perm here we're still temps you
[00:25:59] know and we're hoping to be a perm
[00:26:01] here and just really just take it
[00:26:02] worldwide now that we feel we've
[00:26:05] you know established ourselves we
[00:26:07] basically stuck our flag down this
[00:26:09] year and now we're just trying to
[00:26:11] just grow and you know just don't
[00:26:14] forget about us when you become famous
[00:26:15] oh yeah not at all not at all you too
[00:26:18] yeah so that's what's next for me and
[00:26:22] and just a mentor and then I mentor a
[00:26:25] lot of the youth aspiring
[00:26:27] entrepreneurs as well that's really
[00:26:28] my passion is trying to pull as many
[00:26:31] people up with me because I do
[00:26:33] understand that we're here for a good
[00:26:35] time not a long time so I just you
[00:26:38] know we get a lot of the youth that
[00:26:39] come in and they want to know like how
[00:26:41] did you and what do you do and how do
[00:26:43] you so I take on about 10 mentees like
[00:26:46] every six months and you don't get
[00:26:48] people their business up and started
[00:26:50] and going and just try to help them
[00:26:52] do something different and you know
[00:26:54] because I didn't have anyone other than
[00:26:57] out I mean outside of my household
[00:26:59] you know and if you're at home
[00:27:01] listening to your parents a lot tell
[00:27:02] you what this and that is you tend
[00:27:04] to not take you you know not
[00:27:06] listening and you rather hear from
[00:27:07] someone else and so that's what I've
[00:27:09] been doing and that's what I'm excited
[00:27:10] about the future.
[00:27:11] I love that.
[00:27:13] Ricardo how about you?
[00:27:14] Well we had like I said we have
[00:27:17] six stores right now I don't know if
[00:27:20] I don't if I mentioned all of them or
[00:27:21] not but you know we have one in Rochester
[00:27:23] on the South Side just in case I forgot
[00:27:25] about that so this year we have
[00:27:28] seven locations coming up
[00:27:31] we are about doubling up our operation
[00:27:34] right now so I'm very excited
[00:27:37] it's a lot of work it's a lot of
[00:27:39] work but it has to be done
[00:27:41] so
[00:27:43] for the first time we haven't said much
[00:27:46] about this at all even our social media
[00:27:48] so this is like the first time we're
[00:27:50] actually saying it breaking news
[00:27:52] so we are opening up five shops one of
[00:27:55] them is going to open up here within
[00:27:57] a week and a half and those five
[00:27:59] shops are going to be inside Walmart
[00:28:00] Supercenters
[00:28:02] and that is and then we have two other
[00:28:05] shops that we're going to open
[00:28:06] outside the Walmart stores but our
[00:28:10] first one we're opening up June 1st in
[00:28:12] Lakeville at the Lakeville location
[00:28:16] June July 1st we're opening up Chocopie
[00:28:18] Supercenter and August 1st we're
[00:28:22] opening up Brooklyn Park Supercenter
[00:28:24] from there we October 1st we open
[00:28:28] St. Cloud and Wilmar Minnesota
[00:28:31] those shops are like I said those
[00:28:33] are inside Walmart Supercenters
[00:28:35] and from there we are opening up our
[00:28:37] Mankato location around the mall
[00:28:39] it's not inside the mall it's around
[00:28:41] the mall in Mankato
[00:28:43] so that one should be opening up
[00:28:45] sometime in January together with
[00:28:47] the one in Apple Valley
[00:28:49] so that is that is coming up now
[00:28:52] those are big for this next next
[00:28:54] nine months. That's awesome. So
[00:28:56] we're working pretty hard and it's
[00:28:58] it's taken a lot of our time but
[00:29:00] hey that's fantastic and I think
[00:29:02] I can speak for Dan and myself and
[00:29:03] the entire team at the Mall of
[00:29:04] America. Congratulations on all your
[00:29:06] success you are an inspiration.
[00:29:08] Thank you. I mean a lot of this a lot
[00:29:11] of this is obviously like I said you
[00:29:13] know Mall of America has a lot to do
[00:29:14] with us being exposed out there you
[00:29:17] know like you said you know this is
[00:29:18] a great opportunity for people to
[00:29:21] know that we're who we are and
[00:29:22] what we do and how we do what we
[00:29:26] do you know and so. Absolutely. Well
[00:29:28] believe it or not that does it for
[00:29:30] the show today so be sure to check
[00:29:33] out our friends here at Mall of
[00:29:34] America you will love it check out
[00:29:36] levels on level three outside in
[00:29:38] Nordstrom and Lamuchicana Perpetchica
[00:29:41] probably saying that I got to write
[00:29:43] gotta write the first time level
[00:29:45] two East by the Rotunda so come
[00:29:47] check them out enjoy all of our
[00:29:48] small businesses here at Mall of
[00:29:49] America and that's going to do it
[00:29:50] for this episode of so much more.
[00:29:53] Thank you for tuning in to
[00:29:54] today's episode of so much more.
[00:29:57] If you want to hear more be sure
[00:29:58] to subscribe to our podcast
[00:30:00] wherever you find your favorites
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[00:30:03] podcast and you can also watch a
[00:30:06] video cast on YouTube go to
[00:30:08] podcast at mall of America dot com
[00:30:10] to leave a review ask a question
[00:30:12] or give us an idea for the show
[00:30:14] until next time thanks for
[00:30:16] listening so much more is
[00:30:18] presented by the Bloomington
[00:30:19] Convention and Visitors Bureau
[00:30:21] the official destination marketing
[00:30:23] organization for the city of
[00:30:24] Bloomington Minnesota before
[00:30:26] your next trip to Mall of
[00:30:27] America visit Bloomington mn.org
[00:30:30] for answers to all your travel
[00:30:31] questions deals and packages
[00:30:33] for hotel stays and so much
[00:30:35] more.