Mesa convenience store turns into 'international food' business

By Dan McCarthy
Mail

Amigos Market in Mesa has grown with the help of long-held business basics and a new twist, Ahmad Ali said.

Ali started Amigos Market as a convenience store and turned it into an international snack destination with the help of Phoenix-founded Whatnot.

Whatnot is a platform that combines live video, community interaction and e-commerce. Buyers can join the stream, ask questions in a live chat and purchase instantly, either at set prices or through auctions.

“I started as a side hustle right after moving here, and within two months I had to hire two people. The next month I needed five,” Ali said.

The store recently sold more on the Phoenix-founded Whatnot than it did at the Mesa location, 1350 W. University Drive.

“The store is open 8 to 11 every day. That's when it hit me this was going to be something bigger,” he said.

Ali said his family has been in the convenience store business his entire life.

“At a physical convenience store, you're selling two or three bags an hour. On Whatnot you can move 100 bags in one night. You can't turn over cases of food and beverage that fast anywhere else and doing it from the store gives it that authenticity.”

Employment has also grown, he said.

“The plan is to keep scaling the team, keep showing up consistently and keep adding new products. The viral snack category has so much room to grow, and every day new sellers come on, which tells me we're still early.”

The current economy has caused some issues for many businesses, but Ali said he is helped by the affordability of his products.

“People are looking for deals and entertainment at the same time and live selling delivers both. I'm not carrying heavy inventory, either. We move cases fast, so we're not stuck holding products if things slow down. The format works in our favor right now.”

But his business’ growth has not been easy.

“The beginning: You're live for four hours, and there's maybe five people in the room, and you're barely selling anything.

“You have to be really dynamic, switch things up.”

His message to new sellers that it is “lonely at the start, but if you stay consistent and keep running items, your people will find you.”

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Dan McCarthy
Web content

dmccarthy@iniusa.org

Meet Dan
Dan McCarthy joined Independent Newsmedia as web content editor after a 40-plus year career as a reporter and editor in New Jersey and Arizona. During his time in Arizona, he has been an editor of daily and weekly papers in Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Peoria and Glendale. Prior to moving to Arizona in 1984, when he was hired to be assistant city editor at the Tempe Daily News, he covered regional police/fire news, municipal, county and state governments in New Jersey, the latter as bureau chief at the state Capitol.

Community: He has served on several boards over the years, including the Tempe Community Action Agency and the Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital Board of Governors. He is a graduate of the Tempe Leadership and Scottsdale Leadership programs, serving as media adviser for subsequent classes of Tempe Leadership.

Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. 

Random Fact: Set winter/summer track records in the 60-, 100- and 220-yard dashes at his high school in New Jersey. 

Hobbies: Tai chi, cooking, dining at his must-eat-once places around the U.S. and the Cincinnati Reds, his favorite team since 1961.