In 1978, Eligio Peña, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, opened his first family-owned grocery store in Queens, New York: Compare Foods.
The chain grew quickly, expanding to neighboring boroughs in New York, and by the early 2000s, it was operating in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.
Compare Stores now has nine stores in the Charlotte, North Carolina area — growth that blossomed due to changing demographics in the area, with 45% growth in the state’s Latino population between 2010 and 2022.
Compare Foods prides itself on offering international and Latin American products, often acting as the premier option for immigrant families in the U.S. South.
“We can respond to changing demographics much more quickly than our competitors because we’re not being dictated from the corporate office down,” Omar Jorge Peña, the CEO of Aurora Grocery Group’s Compare Foods business in North Carolina, told The Guardian.
“When the store owner or manager realizes that the demographics in the store neighborhood have changed from Ecuadorian to Honduran, they can make the decision to update the merchandising and product selection in that store to match those changes. It’s part of the beauty of our system that we can adapt quickly to what’s happening around us.”
This nimble approach and consideration of shoppers has led Compare Foods to a new initiative to support customers: Providing free grocery delivery across Charlotte amid a new string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the area.
Last weekend, ICE began deploying to Charlotte in droves, now touting over 250 arrests in the area over the past few days. An estimated 56,000 students have been absent from schools in the area since the crackdown began, and thousands have also walked out of school in protest of the raids.
At the same time, Compare Foods announced that customers who don’t feel comfortable leaving the house to shop in person can use the code NOFEE2025 for free delivery or pickup on online grocery orders through the end of the year.
In a social media video, recorded entirely in Spanish, the company shared the news.
“Our goal is that you can receive your products with peace of mind, from the comfort of your home, with the same freshness and quality as always,” Compare Foods wrote in the caption of the video.
“We continue to work for you, reinforcing our commitment to the community that has trusted us for so many years. We’re here for you, with respect, empathy, and genuine care.”
Customers who do still want to visit the store can utilize an Uber rides program on qualifying purchases, according to the grocery chain.
“It has always been a city that has welcomed immigrants and foreigners,” CEO Peña told Hola News Charlotte of Charlotte, North Carolina.
His interview has been translated into English.
“Since I arrived here in 2009, that warmth and affection for immigrants has been something that has defined this city. And this is the first time I’ve truly felt fear.”
But by providing this resource to the community, he said, for anyone who is worried — “not because of documentation issues, but because they feel uncomfortable with the situation on the streets” — Compare Foods hopes to alleviate at least some of that worry.
“At this crucial and very worrying time, we want to encourage you to stay strong,” he told Hola News Charlotte, adding that it is “crucial” for community members to know and exercise their constitutional rights.
“We must not let them scare or intimidate us into giving up our rights,” he said. “We are Latinos. We stand with Latinos. It’s in our hearts, and we will always be a home away from home for the entire community.”
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Header image courtesy of Compare Foods
