East Austin's Green & White Grocery

This article is based on an abbreviated copy of the historical marker application written by Catalina Cherñavvsky Sequeira, Preservation Austin

Original Green & White Grocery

Green & White Grocery. Photo courtesy Preservation Austin, https://www.preservationaustin.org/news/2022/3/15/east-austin-barrio-landmarks-green-amp-white-grocery

 

Green & White Grocery began as a family owned and operated business in 1936 at its only and current location on the corner of Waller Street and East 7^th Street. That year, Norverto Lopez and his first wife Susie Lopez purchased what would soon become a go-to grocery store for imported Mexican goods and groceries. The grocery store was built across the street from the family’s other business, Green & White Courts. The family lived in an apartment at the back of the store until building a home across the street by their hotel. Norverto worked part-time at the lumberyard by what is now the Aust Convention Center while he got his two businesses up and running. Much of the grocery building is likely made from recycled wood from the lumberyard where Norverto worked. Once the hotel and grocery started to gain traction, the Green & White enterprise became his full-time job.

When Norverto opened his store, the location of business was largely influenced by the city’s transportation routes. The local buses on the East 7^th Street bus route transported many East Austin residents to their jobs in other parts of the city including downtown and West Austin, stopping by Green & White Grocery along the way. The store was also one of the last locales on the highway heading out of Austin, making it a prime location for the business and for anyone needing a pit stop before traveling into or out of the city.

Evolution of the Grocery Store

Norverto came from a large family based in Austin. He was one of nine siblings and had three children: Carlos, Olga, and Gertrude. His wife Susie passed away when their children were young, and Norverto later remarried to Margaret Lopez. Gertrude “Gertie” Lopez would go on to marry Travis County commissioner and prominent Austin politician Richard Moya, and Olga Lopez married John Cazares, Sr. in 1955. Olga and John Sr. met when John Sr. worked at Green & White Grocery while a student at Austin High. They both had attended Palm School and were members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Upon Norverto’s death in 1971 at the age of 65, Olga and John Sr. inherited the family store and furthered the store’s strong reputation for having the best handmade tamales in Austin for much of the late 1900s. The grocery, which began as a general store, now had a full meat market and produce section as well. Their famous tamales attracted hundreds of customers every year, particularly around Christmastime. Locals had to place orders for the popular Mexican dish months in advance for the wintertime.

John Sr. and Olga had six kids who helped run the grocery store, and they were all active members of the community. John Sr. was a father figure to many in the neighborhood. He helped those who were down-and-out and gave them a job, always assisting those who needed support. He gave credit to customers who could not always afford to pay at that moment and arranged grocery deliveries for elderly customers. He also conducted additional tasks for people at his store, including cashing their social security checks. Due to widespread discrimination minority communities, including Mexican American citizens, struggled to get credit at stores or be entrusted to pay their dues, which is why Cazares Sr.’s generosity was especially significant for many who lived in the neighborhood. Green & White provided a safe and welcoming space, where people knew that John Sr. treated everyone with respect and supported them to the best of his ability.

From Grocery Store to Botanica

The grocery maintained its notoriety for its delicious and hard to come by Mexican goods and food for several decades. In 1993, John Sr. retired and passed the store onto his son, John Cazares Jr. Cazares Jr. transformed the store from a grocery to a botanica in 1996 to keep up with the changing times and needs of the community. In the botanica he began selling votive candles, charms, perfumes, oils, herbs, vitamins, and other spiritual goods to promote a healthy lifestyle. Cazares Jr. decided to keep the store name, both out of convenience but also because of its historic importance. By the 1990s, Green & White was an emblem of the neighborhood. Everyone knew about it, and keeping the name the same just seemed natural. However, “the Botanica” has become the unofficial name for the store, and it is even what the store is labeled as on Travis County Records. The back space, formerly the Lopez’s family home when they started the business, served as a place where other community members conducted blessings and cleansings rituals for several years. Now it is used as a personal space, but there are still those that visit the store not only to buy products or consult Cazares Jr. for medicinal and spiritual queries, but also to pray to the various santos situated throughout the aisles of the storer.

Legacy

Today, the one-story frame building looks much like it did in 1936. Its massive jerkinhead gable is reminiscent of Craftsman style houses popular at the time. Decorative brackets and exposed rafter tails beneath the primary roof structure and the first-story awning speak to this vernacular interpretation of the style as well. Remarkably, the distinct storefront signage appears today exactly as it did in a historic photograph dating to 1958, and may be original. A more recent addition to the store can be seen on the front and side of the building, where local graffiti artist Federico Archuleta painted two of his iconic stencils onto the walls that read “Paz y amor ¡Por favor!” and “Til death do us part”. Located just across the street from the Briones House and a mere five-minute walk from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Green & White continues to be one of the many East Austin institutions that are emblematic of the Mexican American community that they serve. In fact, the demographic of customers has not drastically changed despite the evolution of the store. Many who shopped at Green & White Grocery before 1996 continue to do so today. The store continues to be supported by loyal, regular customers who come in anywhere from once a week to once every other month. Though most products come from Mexico, many other Latin American cultures utilize similar spiritual goods, so even customers from Central America can find items at Green & White that they cannot find anywhere else in Austin. Nevertheless, with Austin rapidly growing and changing, the owner has certainly noticed an influx of young people who come into his store, and the Mexican American majority demographic has certainly diminished over the years.

Conclusion

Green & White Grocery has had a distinct presence in East Austin for nearly a century. Its owners have been generous and contributing members to their society and the non-local visitors more broadly. As one of the last commercial businesses along East 7^th Street heading towards the highway leaving the city of Austin, its location has attracted customers from all over Austin and beyond for many decades. Though the purpose of the store has transformed from grocery store to botanica, its significance remains as prominent as it was in the late 20^th century. Just as people found comfort in the food and services of the grocery store for so many years, many customers, both old and new, continue to find the same generosity and support at Green & White today.

Sources; Read More

Sequeira, Catalina Cherñavvsky. "East Austin Barrio Landmarks: Green & White Grocery", Preservation Austin blog, https://www.preservationaustin.org/news/2022/3/15/east-austin-barrio-landmarks-green-amp-white-grocery, accessed 04-15-2023

“A Growing Community.” n.d. Library of Congress. Accessed March 15, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/mexican/a-growing-community/.
 
“ATX Together: Roots of Racism in Austin.” 2021. Austin PBS. January 29, 2021. https://austinpbs.org/highlight/atx-together-roots-of-racism-in-austin.

“Becoming Part of the United States.” n.d. Library of Congress. Accessed March 15, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/mexican/becoming-part-of-the-united-states/.

Benavides, Adán, Jr. 1996. “Tejano.” Handbook of Texas. January 1, 1996. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tejano.
 Cazares, John. Personal Interview. February 4, 2022.

“City of Austin Historic Resources Survey, Final Report Volume I.” Austintexas.gov,
Hardy∙Heck∙Moore, Inc., October 24, 2016. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=231307.

Gandara, Ricardo. “Longtime Green & White Grocery Owner Remembered for Kindness to All.” Austin American Statesman, September 1, 2012.

[Green & White Grocery Store], photograph, July 15, 1958; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth531415/m1/1/: accessed March 16, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Humphrey, David C. 1976. “Austin, TX (Travis County).” Handbook of Texas. 1976. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/austin-tx-travis-county.

La Botanica. East Austin Stories. November 16, 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9CKLoUIBqQ.

León, Arnoldo de. 1976. “Mexican Americans.” Handbook of Texas. 1976. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mexican-americans.

Little, Becky. 2018. “Why Mexican Americans Say ‘the Border Crossed Us.’” HISTORY. October 17, 2018. https://www.history.com/news/texas-mexico-border-history-laws.

“Most Unassuming Spiritual Haven: Green & White Grocery.” Austin Chronicle, 2011.
https://www.austinchronicle.com/best-of-austin/year:2011/poll:critics/category:shopping/green-and-white-grocery-most-unassuming-spiritual-haven/.

The History of the Green and White Store. East Austin Stories. September 14, 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKsKnojVWHo. 

Texas State Historical Association. n.d. “Handbook of Tejano History.” Handbook of Texas. Accessed March 15, 2022. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/projects/tejano-history.

Williams, Margaret. “Talking Shop.” Tribeza, June 2009.
https://tribeza.com/east-austin-green-white-grocery-evolution/. 

Wood, Virginia B. “In With the New: So Long, Seis Salsas and Green & White's Groceries.” Austin Chronicle, January 26, 1996. https://www.austinchronicle.com/food/1996-01-26/530496/

Herrera Family and Herrera House

This article is based on an abbreviated copy of the historical marker application by Catalina Cherñavvsky Sequeir, Preservation Austin intern.

Herrera House 1805 E. Third St.

The Herrera Family Home 

The modest house near the corner of 3rd and Chicon Streets was home to three trailblazing educators and activists in Austin for over one hundred years. The house was built around 1900 in the National Folk style, a design that was popular at the time.⁶ It is four bays wide with a cross-gabled roof, board and batten siding, a simple shed-roofed entry porch, and an L-shaped plan. This minimalist residential style was commonly built for and by working-class Americans. Prior to the invention of electric fans and air conditioning, wing-and-gable style houses like this one provided naturally cooling environments in southern climates.⁷ This style is seen in older neighborhoods close to downtown Austin.

Valentin Herrera and his wife, Josefa, originally from Mexico, moved into this East Austin home in 1911. Josefa would later operate a bakery out of the house, while Valentin taught and operated a local Spanish language school.⁸ The couple raised their seven children in the house. Two of them, Consuelo and Mary Grace, later became the first Mexican American teachers to work in the Austin Independent School District (AISD).⁹

Consuelo Herrera Mendez 

Consuelo Herrera Mendez was born in 1904 in San Marcos, Texas and moved to the house on East 3rd Street with her family in 1911. She lived there until 1943.¹⁰ She attended Palm Elementary School, John T. Allan Junior High, and Austin High School graduating in 1923. A high school diploma was a very significant and rare accomplishment for a Mexican American woman at that time.¹¹ She passed the exam to teach elementary school shortly after, but the AISD refused to hire her. They insisted that there were no jobs available, but Consuelo contended that it was due to her ethnicity.¹² Consuelo worked in other parts of Texas instead and started teaching in the AISD in 1927 after the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) lobbied the City Council convincing Superintendent Arthur N. McCallum, Sr. to hire her. This position made her one of the first Tejana women to teach in a major Texas school system.¹³ She taught at the segregated Comal Street School, also known as la escuelita, which was a four-room school house where Latino children attended first and second grade.¹⁴ After the school closed, she then taught at the newly built Zavala Elementary School from about 1936 to 1956. In 1956 Consuelo earned her Bachelor’s degree from University of Texas after years of summer school, which was another notable feat for a person of her gender and ethnicity at the time. She majored in education and minored in Spanish.¹⁵ She then taught at Brooke Elementary School from 1956 to 1972.¹⁶

In 1943, Conseulo married Patricio J. Méndez, who was a lawyer, and moved out of her family home. They founded and led the Zavala PTA though they did not have any children of their own.¹⁷ Consuelo and her husband were active in local politics, helping with voter registration and poll tax drives for Latino residents and writing articles for the state PTA newsletter in both English and Spanish. Patricio was the first Latino man to run for Austin City Council in 1951. Consuelo became president of the Ladies League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council No. 202 in 1961 and served as the chair of the state LULAC convention that year.¹⁸ Consuelo and Patricio worked with LULAC during the 1940s through the 1960s on various political campaigns and fundraising initiatives to provide scholarships for Mexican American students. In 1961, LULAC awarded Consuelo “Outstanding Community Service” recognition for her efforts in establishing such scholarships.¹⁹ She retired in 1972 after teaching for 45 years and passed away in 1985. Two years after her passing, AISD named the new Mendez Middle School in her honor.²⁰

Mary Grace Herrera

Mary Grace Herrera was born in 1912 and was the second Mexican American woman after Consuelo to work in the Austin school district. She taught first at Fulmore Junior High, then at Palm School beginning in 1938, where she taught for over 35 years.²¹ In 1973 she was one of the key witnesses in a federal desegregation trial for Austin schools.²² Mary Grace and her sister Consuelo testified that no programs were in place to meet the needs of Spanish speaking students in public schools, and teachers were instructed to only speak English to students discriminating against Spanish-speaking Mexican American students.²³ She lived in the family house on East 3rd Street her whole life until her death in 1992.

Diana Herrera Castañeda

Diana Herrera Castañeda, Consuelo’s niece, lived in the house on East 3rd Street from 1992 until her death in 2016. She was a district trustee and East Austin activist. She attended Travis High School and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Texas State University (known today as Texas State University). Diana was the third Latina elected to the AISD School Board in 1992 and served in PTAs for Metz Elementary, Brooke Elementary, Sanchez Elementary, and Austin High School.²⁵ She was involved in LULAC, the local chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), and Mexican American Democrats.²⁶ Her activism went beyond the organizations that she participated in; Diana would take in children from the neighborhood who were in need, looking after them, feeding them, and making sure they were doing well in school.²⁷ She and her husband Jim also formed a track club for their own children and other local kids so that they could take part in a sport that was traditionally too expensive for families in the neighborhood.²⁸ As an active member of the AISD, she worked tirelessly to improve public schools, especially working to ensure that Latino students were provided equal educational opportunities. She fought against the privatization of schools. As of 2016, community members, including PODER founder Susana Almanza, were working to name an Austin school in Diana’s honor.²⁴

Saving the Historic Home

The present owners scheduled the demolition of the home at 1805 East Third Street, but community organizations successfully advocated for the site to be designated a City of Austin historic landmark. One of Diana’s daughters, Rosanna Cervantes, spoke in favor of preserving the site, emphasizing the importance of the three women’s work and the necessity of preserving the home to commemorate their long-lasting legacy.³⁰ Thanks in large part to the Austin Raza Round Table and the East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood, the City designated the home a historic landmark honoring three important civil rights advocates of the Mexican American community. Much of the house is already collapsed with many parts on the verge, but owner Rex Bowers hired architect William Hodge to restore the original portion of the home.³¹

The Austin Raza Round Table also wrote a letter signed by 91 people to the mayor of Austin and City Council and called on the City to purchase the home and convert it into a museum to commemorate and celebrate the lives and civic contributions of the Consuelo Herrera Mendez, Mary Grace Herrera, and Diana Herrera Castañeda.³² Though the house is still quite dilapidated, efforts are in place to restore the home where the memory of three community activists may be honored.

Conclusion

Consuelo Herrera Mendez, Mary Grace Herrera, and Diana Herrera Castañeda were integral members of the Latino community in East Austin and forged a path to desegregate schools and provide equal opportunities to Mexican American and Latino youth. They served as educators for several decades and were staunch activists who fought incessantly for civil rights and equal opportunities for Latino children. Members of the Herrera family lived in the home at 1805 East Third Street for 105 years collectively while engaging in community work and advocacy. Because so many important East Austin houses have already been demolished, including community leader Edward Rendon Sr.’s home, the preservation of the Herrera house on East 3rd Street not only commemorates the contributions three women made to Austin history at large, but also presents a long overdue shift to celebrating buildings across the city that are of utmost importance to minority communities and played a pivotal role in Austin’s history.³³ The architectural significance of the home must also be restated, as one of the few remaining examples of a National Folk style house.

Footnotes

6.  Sudborough, Susannah. 2019. “East Austin House in Zoning Dispute.” Austin American Statesman, August 1, 2019. https://www.statesman.com/news/20190801/property-rights-and-historical-preservation-clash-in-zoning-decision.

7.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.

8.  ibid.

9.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933; see also Wilson, Mark D. 2020. “Council Set to Vote on Whether Activists’ East Austin House Is Historical Site.” Austin American Statesman, January 20, 2020. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/county/2020/01/20/council-set-to-vote-on-whether-activists-east-austin-house-is-historical-site/1859169007/.

10.   Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933; see also Devenyns, Jessi. 2019. “Historic Herrera Homestead Heads to Council with Planning Commission Approval.” Austin Monitor. October 1, 2019. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/10/historic-herrera-homestead-heads-to-council-with-planning-commission-approval/.

11.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.

12.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.; see also Sudborough, Susannah. 2019. “East Austin House in Zoning Dispute.” Austin American Statesman, August 1, 2019. https://www.statesman.com/news/20190801/property-rights-and-historical-preservation-clash-in-zoning-decision.

13.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.; see also Orozco, Cynthia E. 1995. “Mendez, Consuelo Herrera (1904-1985).” Handbook of Texas. April 1, 1995. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mendez-consuelo-herrera.

14.  Orozco, Cynthia E. 1995. “Mendez, Consuelo Herrera (1904-1985).” Handbook of Texas. April 1, 1995. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mendez-consuelo-herrera.

15.  ibid.

16.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.

17.  ibid.

18.  Orozco, Cynthia E. 1995. “Mendez, Consuelo Herrera (1904-1985).” Handbook of Texas. April 1, 1995. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mendez-consuelo-herrera.

19.  ibid.

20.  ibid.

21.  Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.

22.  Devenyns, Jessi. 2019. “Historic Herrera Homestead Heads to Council with Planning Commission Approval.” Austin Monitor. October 1, 2019. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/10/historic-herrera-homestead-heads-to-council-with-planning-commission-approval/; see also Orozco, Cynthia E. 1995. “Mendez, Consuelo Herrera (1904-1985).” Handbook of Texas. April 1, 1995. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mendez-consuelo-herrera.

23.  Sudborough, Susannah. 2019. “East Austin House in Zoning Dispute.” Austin American Statesman, August 1, 2019. https://www.statesman.com/news/20190801/property-rights-and-historical-preservation-clash-in-zoning-decision.

24.  Barragan, James. 2016. “Diana Castañeda Was Activist, Former School Board Member.” Austin American Statesman, August 13, 2016. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2016/08/13/diana-castaeda-was-activist-former-school-board-member/9954444007/.

25.  Devenyns, Jessi. 2019. “Historic Herrera Homestead Heads to Council with Planning Commission Approval.” Austin Monitor. October 1, 2019. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/10/historic-herrera-homestead-heads-to-council-with-planning-commission-approval/; see also Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.

26.   Austin Historic Landmark Commission. 2019. “Zoning Change Review Sheet.” Austintexas.Gov. July 22, 2019. https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=333933.

27.  Barragan, James. 2016. “Diana Castañeda Was Activist, Former School Board Member.” Austin American Statesman, August 13, 2016. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2016/08/13/diana-castaeda-was-activist-former-school-board-member/9954444007/.

28.  ibid.

29.  ibid.

30.  Devenyns, Jessi. 2019. “Historic Herrera Homestead Heads to Council with Planning Commission Approval.” Austin Monitor. October 1, 2019. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/10/historic-herrera-homestead-heads-to-council-with-planning-commission-approval/.

31.  Wilson, Mark D. 2020. “Council Set to Vote on Whether Activists’ East Austin House Is Historical Site.” Austin American Statesman, January 20, 2020. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/county/2020/01/20/council-set-to-vote-on-whether-activists-east-austin-house-is-historical-site/1859169007/.

32.  ibid.

33.  Sudborough, Susannah. 2019. “East Austin House in Zoning Dispute.” Austin American Statesman, August 1, 2019. https://www.statesman.com/news/20190801/property-rights-and-historical-preservation-clash-in-zoning-decision.