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On Highway 64, nine miles west of Farmington, N.M., in the small town of Bloomfield, Fernando Reyes saw an opportunity. Oil field workers on their way to work had only one option for a hot breakfast – a farm store.

 

“I sat in my car in the farm store parking lot for several mornings from 4:30 to 5:00, studying foot traffic,” said Fernando, “and I realized customers had to wait about 20 minutes to get their food.” If Fernando could sell hot breakfast burritos to oil field workers with a 60-second turnaround time, he knew he could sustain a business.

 

In 2004, Fernando and a business partner decided to purchase a tortilla machine from Mexico to open a tortilla factory that would also sell breakfast burritos to the oil field workers. As Fernando was on his way back to Bloomfield with the newly purchased machine in tow, his business partner called to say he was backing out of the plan.

 

Unable to cover the other half of the cost of the machine, Fernando quickly went to the local community college to learn more about resources in the community that could help him keep on track with his dream of business ownership. Fernando found ACCION.

 

After completing his loan application and meeting face-to-face with his loan officer in Bloomfield, Fernando received his first ACCION loan to cover the remaining cost of the machine and get his business started.

 

In July 2004, Fernando opened Chihuahua Tortilla Factory, and immediately attracted oil field workers with his hot breakfast burritos made with fresh tortillas, mouth-watering biscochitos and horchata. Since its opening, Chihuahua Tortilla Factory has expanded its restaurant with more seating and a lunch buffet. Fernando recently received a second ACCION loan to purchase a double-press tortilla machine to increase production to 800 dozen tortillas a week to handle growing demands from major grocery stores in Farmington, Milan, and Durango, Colorado. Fernando is also working with a major grocery chain to expand into the Albuquerque grocery market in 2010.

 

“Without ACCION, my business would never have taken off,” said Fernando. “The people at ACCION are great. We have a great relationship. I think the world of them.”