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Farmers Market Superstar Molino Tortilleria Lands Brick & Mortar

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The meteoric rise of the Molino Tortilleria over the summer Farmers Market season has lead to exciting news for the rabid fans who have flocked week after week to see them at the market or made their way to Food Truck Fridays to discover more of their culinary greatness in the Benton Harbor Arts District. That exciting news is they now have a brick and mortar store so you can continue your tortilla love all year round.

Aaron and Christie Harris launched their business early this year by doing things the old school way. The really old school way, and it became a phenomenal success beyond even their wildest dreams. The Harris family is the team behind the amazing Molino Tortilleria, and they took the St. Joseph Farmers Market by storm all summer long.

Now, they have a new base of operations that will help them to crank out ever more amazing product for the fans who have turned their little start up into an explosion of greatness. Their new home will be located 5846 Sawyer Rd in downtown Sawyer, right next door to their good friends at Infusco Coffee Roasters.

Aaron says, “We are very excited to be a part of such a vibrant business district and can’t wait to get to know more about the community. We would especially like to thank Aaron Darling of Infusco Coffee Roasters & Bev and Jerry Kohn for helping us make this part of our vision a reality.”

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He goes on to say, “Having our own facility is a dream come true and we know none of this would have happened if not for the support of our family, friends, and community. We thank you all sincerely!”

For now, they’re beginning the process of fitting their new space to specific needs and have some work ahead acquiring and installing the necessary equipment. Then they will have to move on to getting licensed in order to begin producing on a larger scale.

The goal is far beyond simply having a place for you to stop by to get your personal orders. Aaron and Christie tell fans, “Our hope is you’ll be seeing Molino goods on store shelves and on plates at your favorite local restaurants very soon. We intend to keep you all up to date with our progress and we’re very grateful for your support as we venture into our next step.”

Writing on their Facebook fan page, the Harris family suggests, “Visit www.MolinoTortillas.com and sign up for the mailing list to receive updates about our progress, opening dates and special events!”

For those not yet familiar with the Molino story, here’s more from a previous article here on Moody on the Market:

The story of Molino starts the same way most great adventures do: People in search of something great. In their case, great tacos. They wondered, however, what makes a great taco? As founders of the Molino Tortilleria, Aaron & Christie began to ask themselves that very question. Is it the filling? Is it the toppings? Salsas? What about the tortilla? As they reflected back on their own greatest taco experiences, the corn tortilla was never the hero. They admit on their website, “If we’re being honest the corn tortilla was usually the least notable ingredient when thinking about the great tacos we have had. But how could something so ubiquitous with Mexican cuisine and culture be so….well, tasteless?”

After researching and reading everything they could find about corn tortillas the Harris family was surprised to learn what top Mexican and American chefs thought about the state of tortillas and corn in the US. They learned about the history of tortillas, the shift away from the traditional process of Nixtamalization and how most Americans had never even tasted a traditional corn tortilla, including themselves. Aaron says, “That hit hard. Collectively we have eaten thousands of corn tortillas. Some of us growing up in Mexican families and eating tacos, sopes and tamales on a regular basis. How could it be?!”

Upon learning all of that, Aaron began to search out a local Tortilleria that was still milling tortillas the traditional way and again was shocked to find that only a handful of rogue business owners in the US were keeping the tradition alive. So, he, being a maker at heart, decided to begin milling his own.

Aaron says, “The moment I first tasted a true fresh nixtamal tortilla was kind of a watershed moment for me personally. I was in such disbelief that I had never questioned why I never really truly enjoyed corn tortillas as much as I felt I should but now it was so clear. I felt cheated and excited all at the same time.” The next couple months lead to many hours of research, testing and of course plenty of tacos.

It didn’t take long for word to spread among his friends and family. Aaron says, “Seeing the way people responded to the tortillas and even more so to the story and history, we knew we had to do something to help keep the traditions alive, so we decided to jump in and try our hand at production on a larger scale.”

Thus was born Molino Tortilleria. They says, “At Molino we believe in doing our part to create the world we want to live in. We want to live in a world with great food.” They add, “Our tortillas are produced through the natural process of Nixtamalization — cooking whole dried corn kernels in lime treated water — then the corn is stone ground into masa for tortillas. This process has been used by Mesoamerican cultures for thousands of years – and for good reason. Nixtamalized corn has many health benefits when compared to untreated corn. It removes toxins, imparts calcium, activates amino acids and vitamin B3 while also freeing trapped niacin found naturally in the corn allowing our bodies to absorb the nutrients more readily.”

Aaron tells us that most mass produced tortillas sold in the United States are made using a hybrid method that dries the corn and grinds it into a powder to extend the shelf life. That makes transporting and selling the product to mass market easier, but the loss of nutritious elements and flavors are too great to ignore.”

Stay tuned for more on the new home of Molino Tortilleria in downtown Sawyer.