RIVER FALLS – Despite the struggles she and her family have faced, Maria Reyes has faith. Faith in the Lord’s protection, faith in the community, faith that good will prevail, faith in herself, faith in the future. But it hasn’t been easy.

Reyes opened Maria’s Tienda y Boutique Mexicana at 200 E. Elm St. in River Falls in May 2024. With the support of her husband, Victor Reyes Alvarado, she took a leap of faith and dove into her dream of owning her own store, which was successful the first few months. However, after one year, Reyes has made the gut-wrenching decision to close.

Originally from Chicago, Reyes moved here when her husband found employment on a farm. Describing her ethnicity as "half white and half Mexican," moving to rural Wisconsin was a culture shock for Reyes. They settled in the small town of Barron, which seemed tiny after living in a metropolis. She, her husband and 17-year-old daughter lived there for one year.

“My husband brought me to Wisconsin,” Reyes said. “I had never been to Wisconsin before.”

When her husband’s job took them to Osceola, they couldn’t find an apartment near there, so they finally ended up in River Falls. Reyes immediately loved the town despite her worries.

“I was a little nervous because it was a college town,” she admitted. “But we got along very well with the students (in their building).”

A year later, the family purchased a home in Ellsworth, a major milestone in their American dream. With her husband’s roofing business then thriving, Reyes and her husband wanted to give their family the opportunity to have their own home, complete with roosters and chickens and all. Watching her daughter and grandchildren thrive brings her joy.

“I always wanted a house. I was happy where we were living but wanted to look. And we’re definitely not complaining about the eggs,” Reyes laughed.

Reyes has always wanted to own her own business. She wanted to open a food truck, but it was too expensive. She knew she had to start somewhere, and since her husband worked all year long and could provide for the family, they decided last year was the time. Maria’s Tienda y Boutique Mexicana opened in May 2024.

“We took one day to another,” Reyes said. “We maxed out our credit cards and just started it.”

The store, tucked next to American Family Insurance, was busy at first. Reyes said word of mouth brought customers in, not only from the Hispanic community, but the community as a whole. But after January 2025, Reyes noticed a troubling trend: Her Hispanic customers slowly stopped coming in.

“After January, it just went downhill,” Reyes said. “I was doing deliveries to people’s houses. A lot of my other clients just stopped. I became a little scared, but my husband said. ‘We have to have faith.’”

Her husband’s once thriving roofing business has also slowed to a trickle, Reyes said. Once busy year-round, the couple struggles to pay the bills. With the store’s business diminishing, because the Hispanic community is afraid to leave their homes for fear of targeting or ICE raids, Reyes decided to close the once promising shop.

“I’m still not making enough,” she said. “I make enough to buy product, but I don’t make enough to buy product and take care of the bills, the rent and the store.”

Before the presidential inauguration in January, Reyes said her customer base was a good mix. She estimated about 40% were Latinos while the rest were non-Latino. She thought she could survive even if her Latino customers stopped coming in, but slowly, other customers stopped coming in as well. She believes many Hispanic customers are scared to leave their homes, even if they are here legally.

Reyes teared up when she spoke of seeing a post on Facebook bashing her. She believes it was because of political signs put up at the building in which she was located, which she did not erect.

“I was really upset because nobody was coming in,” Reyes said. “I felt bad because I didn’t know what was going on. Little bit by little bit, business slowed.”

Reyes thought about staying open on weekends, but she decided it’s not worth the stress. She said she believes she could have kept it open part-time, but it’s hard to find an employee she could trust. She’s also accepted a full-time job working with children to help support her family.

“My plan was to spice up River Falls,” Reyes said. “That was my idea when I opened, to give some diversity to River Falls, to kind of help people not always have to go to the Cities. I’m still thinking about reopening at another time. It just wasn’t my time.”

Reyes is keeping her license to sell current, so she hopes to sell her homemade tamales and other food items somewhere in town. She is exploring options. Though this store didn’t work out, she’s not going anywhere.

“I’m not bummed. I really enjoyed the short time I was there. I met a lot of people. I’m a people person. It was a good experience,” Reyes said.

Maria’s Tienda developed a following for Reyes’ homemade pork and chicken tamales. It takes her and her goddaughter’s mother an entire day to make them. She also focused on carrying products in her store that were unique, such as spices, clothing, snacks, jewelry and décor, much of which she brought from Chicago. She also provided her Hispanic customers the service Viamericas to send money to relatives at home or across the U.S. Her aunt would bring earrings from Mexico and embroidered shirts.

“I invested a lot,” Reyes said. “I don’t regret it, because I really wanted to try.”

Reyes isn’t a homebody and not one to sit still. Her new job at a daycare is right up her alley; she loves working with children and became certified through Department of Public Instruction training to help ESL (English as a Second Language) special needs students.

During the winter when the store started struggling, Reyes worked as a Door Dash driver to keep the family afloat. New laws in Minnesota concerning construction industry subcontractors have prevented her husband from taking roofing jobs in that state, adding to their financial worries.
“It was really hard,” Reyes said. “I’ve always been a person of faith and I’ve always been a hard worker. I’m not one to shut down when things get tough. I try to figure out what to do next.

If it’s not working, you need to let it go.”

Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Reyes feels sad for her fellow Hispanic community members.

“I feel bad for the community, the Latino community that comes to spend money,” she lamented. “They won’t have the services they want and the products that they need. I became friends with my customers. They’d come in and buy one little thing, but we’d converse for 30 minutes. I’m going to miss that.”

Reyes is grateful for the support she has been shown by the community, including loyal customers and friends.
“A lot of people did try to help me, but it just didn’t work. It’s not anybody’s fault, things just go like that,” she said. “It could be the economy. I think the whole economic system is suffering. I understand. I know I didn’t do anything wrong.”

When she reopens one day, which she plans to, her store will be better and bigger than ever. She hopes to have not only a store, but a place to eat as well.

“I hope to reopen again and even bigger. I started small,” she said. “I knew I had to crawl before I walked. But I know it will happen. It’s motivated me to be bigger later. I am going to do it a little different or a little bigger.”

Reyes plans to hold sales at the store until she’s permanently closed. Follow the store on Facebook at “Maria’s Boutique Y Tienda Mexicana.”