The holiday season has arrived, and families across the Valley are preparing to celebrate with foods that honor their cultural traditions. Local grocery stores are stepping up to help make these celebrations more affordable by offering special deals on culturally significant items.
For Viola Lucero, the holiday season means tamale season. The ABC15 Smart Shopper grew up in New Mexico, where tamales were made by the dozen during family gatherings.
"My mom has seven brothers and sisters, so every Christmas we all get together, and everyone makes tamales," Lucero said.
She estimates her family makes between 30 to 50 dozen tamales each year.
Food City offers tamale-making essentials
Food City is positioning itself as a go-to destination for tamale ingredients and supplies. The store features handmade dough, where fresh masa is made daily.
"We really are your home for tamales,” Ashley Shick, Bashas’ Director of Communications, said.
The store offers unique flavors that caught Lucero's attention.
"I'm really excited, because I've never seen a pineapple or a strawberry masa," Lucero said.
For families short on time, Food City offers grab-and-go options at $11.99 for a 12-pack, which breaks down to $1 per tamale. Ready-to-eat tamales are also available for about $2.50 each, paired with sides to make it a full meal.
Fry's Mercado saves time and money
At Fry's Mercado, near McDowell and 43rd Avenue, pre-made masa helps families streamline their tamale preparation process.
"This takes, I would say, a good hour to two hours off of my tamale prep every single year," Daniella Lerma, Fry’s Multicultural Specialist, said.
The store offers various flavors and spices on sale, including California chili pods for under $5. Beyond the Mercado location, Fry’s stores across the valley have tamale displays, offering a one-stop-shop option for families.
"I'd say for under 50 bucks ,to get everything you need, you can easily make a good four dozen tamales,” Lerma said.
Fry's Signature Store serves Hanukkah shoppers
At the Fry's Signature Store, located at Tatum and Shea, the focus shifts to helping families celebrate Hanukkah. The store offers Hanukkah candles for $1.39 and various holiday treats for $1.
"Chocolate coins, candles, all of these great little candy sweet goodies will make your host very, very happy," Lerma said.
The store sources kosher foods from distributors worldwide.
"We place orders with distributors all over the world to get product imported from Israel, California, Chicago, New York, some of our big staples for the Jewish community throughout the US," Lerma said.
Shoppers can find kosher wine for under $6 and sales on kosher meat.
"This is very hard to find in Arizona, some great fresh kosher meat at a reasonable, fair price," Lerma said.
With these specialized products, the signature store draws customers from across the state.
“Our number one kosher store in all of Arizona is very unique, because we offer a kosher experience set that is standalone from the rest of the store," Lerma said.
Bringing traditions to life affordably
These grocery savings help bring cultural traditions to life for Valley families. Shoppers like Lucero appreciate having access to familiar foods at affordable prices.
"Coming from New Mexico, New Mexican food is very different than the food here in Arizona,” Lucero said. "So it's nice to bring that here, to be able to have a place to come and to be able to get the types of food that I was raised up with. And also a low cost."
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