By Edward Henderson
“When you walk into Wrigley’s you feel the love. It’s easy to explain, but better to experience,” Ivan Arabo assures me. I take him up on the challenge. Wrigley’s Supermarket is nestled near the corner of Euclid Ave and East Division Street in National City. The moment I entered the store, I could see why Arabo was so proud of his family’s business. Banners honoring partnerships with local schools hang from the ceiling and handmade thank you notes from students are posted on the walls. It’s a community touch not many chain grocery stores feature and its part of the reason why the store was recently honored as 79th District Business of the Year.
Wrigley’s was founded by Arabo’s Grandfather and Uncles in 1979 when they moved to San Diego from Iraq. The original store was on the corner of Euclid and Federal in Southeast. Arabo and his 20 cousins would go to store when they were kids to stay out of trouble at home.
“We used to drive our mom’s crazy at home so they would send us to the store to be with our dads. We would bring in carts, bag groceries and other minor things. As we got older we were given more responsibility.”
They graduated to working in the meat, produce, customer service departments and everything in-between. Arabo and all of his cousins went to college and continued working on the business side of Wrigley’s negotiating with vendors, shopping for and pricing products. Gradually the extended family branched out from the biasness and Arabo is the only one left. He’s the only one still involved on an almost daily basis. The energy of the store and commitment to the surrounding community keep him going.
“We’ve seen lots of families grow. Many people have been shopping with us since we opened. They’ve also seen me grow up. We have a real community feel. We know all of our customers by name or face. We have our close relationship with our customers that you can’t develop overnight. It’s taken 37 years to build this kind of connection. Not a lot of business can say that.”
Support from the African American community has been important to the success of Wrigley’s, especially in its former location in Southeast.
“We love the African American community here and all of the relationships we’ve built. For us being in an underserved community, customers there really appreciated that. We felt comfortable in the neighborhood and all of the people there come from hard working families. There are a lot of similarities between our cultures.”
Kaiyah Johnson has shopped at Wrigley’s ever since she moved to San Diego from Sacramento three months ago. The environment keeps her coming back.
“We look for good produce, prices and customer service. Everybody’s friendly here. They greet you and make it a great experience each time we come here,” Johnson said.
Outside of the store Arabo is involved in organizations in National City and Southeast San Diego. He serves on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Sharing Economic Development Committee and works in the Diversity and Inclusion initiative for the US Midway Battleship. His proudest work involves the school system. Wrigley’s welcomes students to tour the store and learn about produce and food pyramids. Students get to take fresh fruits and vegetables home to plant the seed of healthy eating.
Wrigley’s is well known for their produce and fresh meat departments. They also feature a Mississippi Style Kitchen with a full southern style menu. Arabo takes pride in preparing much of the cuisine on the menu.
“People don’t expect me to be able to cook food like this. They’re surprised that a kid from Iraq has soul.”
