Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to highlight Latino culture, including music, dance, art and traditional foods, available in markets along Independence Avenue.

San Antonio Meat Market, located at 2904 Independence Blvd., is a family-owned Latino market and restaurant, which joined the Independence Avenue business community in 2014. San Antonio Market was originally the second of two locations for the Contreras family — the original is located at 830 Kansas Ave. in Kansas City, Kan. This Northeast location split from the original in August of 2020.

The Contreras family hails from Chihuahua, a northwestern province of Mexico. Their family immigrated to the U.S. in the mid 1990s, settling in the Kansas City, Kan., area. Luis Contreras clarified that both locations are still owned by the same family, but they have different recipes for the specialty dishes served in each restaurant.

Some of the specialties from the restaurant side of the business include tacos al pastor (shepherd style), made with spit-grilled pork, carnitas, and of course, tamales. Tamales are available by the dozen, half dozen or individually in three varieties — pork in red chili sauce, cheese and jalapeño or chicken in green sauce.

Ordering tamales ahead of time is generally advised by staff due to their high demand. San Antonio also features a fresh meat case, stocked fresh daily with beef, pork, chicken and seafood, as well as chorizo, nopales (cactus) and lengua (beef tongue).