Mouth-watering aromas of hot wings, green hatch chile soup, and posole pork waft from the kitchen at the Tsabetsaye family’s market in Zuni Pueblo, N.M. “We don’t buy canned goods to reheat,” said Darrell Tsabetsaye. “Everything is made out of scratch, down to the salad dressing. We make our own mustard, our own mayo, and our hamburger is never frozen, always fresh.” 

Tsabetsaye’s son is culinary-trained, and his wife Roscelia Him Tsabetsaye is a baker. In the morning, the smell of croissants and empanadas rises from the ovens. Together, the family is working to bring fresh, quality food to their community of Zuni Pueblo.

Tsabetsayes’ Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go is one of the only Tribal-owned brick-and-mortar businesses in Zuni Pueblo, where more than 6,000 people have few options for buying food locally. 

To the southeast rises the high, sacred Dowa Yalanne mesa — a vital source of food, water, and spiritual sustenance for Zuni people for generations. The mesa has long stood as a site of both refuge and resistance, including against Coronado’s 1540 invasion and during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Darrell and Roscelia Tsabetsaye opened their first grocery in 1988 and grew the business until the early 2000s. After selling the store, Darrell Tsabetsaye worked in business and economic development, as well as on the restoration of the former Fort Wingate army installation.

But his community’s need for fresh food continued to haunt Darrell Tsabetsaye. “As Native peoples, we have high rates of obesity, high rates of diabetes,” he said. Almost 20% of Zuni Pueblo adults have diabetes, according to Healthy Kids Healthy Tribal Communities.

Plus, Darrell and Roscelia saw the “brain drain” of young people like their own children, who left Zuni Pueblo for education and employment off the reservation. By re-opening Major Market, they saw an opportunity to provide employment for family members close to home.

Because reservation land is held in trust by the federal government, it can’t be used as loan collateral — a structural barrier that limits access to capital for many Native-owned businesses. The Tsabetsayes turned to private philanthropic financing, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC).

They also received a $200,000 grant for storage, inventory, and broadband from Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a USDA Rural Development program administered by Reinvestment Fund. 

In October 2020, after weathering COVID-19 construction hiccups and uncertainty, they opened Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go. “It came back full circle,” Darrell Tsabetsaye said. Today, their business employs 14 Zuni Pueblo Tribal members, including the couple’s two sons, daughter, and grandson. 

Major Market Inc. – Eat & Go now includes a coffee shop, organic fruit and veggies, a deli, ready-made meals, grocery staples, and traditional Native American food, including corn used in religious ceremonies. Three Zuni Pueblo butchers create custom-cut fresh meat for customers.

More than a store, Major Market reflects a vision of food sovereignty on Zuni Pueblo — where healthy, culturally relevant food is grown, prepared and shared by the community, for the community.

Unlike the first Major Market, the new Eat & Go does not have gas pumps, but it does offer electric vehicle charging stations. In the parking lot, solar panels produce about 80% of the market’s electrical needs, and Darrell Tsabetsaye hopes a federal Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant will soon increase capacity to completely cover electrical needs. 

Major Market also sells water, purified by reverse osmosis for 40 cents a gallon, providing an affordable alternative for tap water, which sometimes contains dangerous quantities of arsenic in Zuni Pueblo. 

Family members work long hours every day to help the business survive. “We’re the janitors,” Darrell Tsabetsaye said. “We’re the package people. We’re the cashiers. We do everything.”

Being a small grocer in a rural area presents supply-side challenges. “The mom-and-pops like us 

are at the bottom of the totem pole, and traditionally the costs have been passed on to us because we don’t have the buying power,” Darrell Tsabetsaye said. Often, distributors won’t deliver as far out as Zuni Pueblo, and he’ll drive his personal truck 80 miles round-trip to Gallup, N.M., to meet suppliers.

Despite obstacles, the family remains committed to health education and community support. “We’re here to promote fresh food and make sure that we provide healthy eating for consumers,” Darrell Tsabetsaye said.