Texas-based pizza chain accepts Mexican pesos By Ed Stoddard
Mon Jan 8, 12:57 PM ET

DALLAS (Reuters) - Mexican pesos won't buy you much north of the border. But from Monday they'll buy you a pizza.

A Dallas-based pizza chain which caters to the Hispanic community is accepting the Mexican currency at all of its 59 U.S. stores starting on Monday, giving the greenback some unusual competition at the cash register.

"Unlike many other businesses for us it makes sense. Our stores are located in predominately Hispanic communities and so the majority of our customers are Hispanic," said Andrew Gamm, director of brand development for Pizza Patron.

"We know that a large number of them travel back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico and consequently have some pesos left over in their pocket. The pizza business is extremely competitive and we thought this was a way to position ourselves in relation to our competitors," he told Reuters.

Gamm said he was aware of businesses in border towns which accepted pesos but believed Pizza Patron was the first to offer such a service at outlets far from the Rio Grande.

The franchise operates in five states: Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado.

The pizza peso ploy highlights the growing economic clout of the Hispanic community in America and the busy two-way traffic along the border.

But against the backdrop of rising anti-Hispanic tensions as America grapples with an estimated 10 to 12 million illegal immigrants, there are some who do not regard it as a harmless marketing gimmick.

"This is America, We speak English and our currency is the U.S. dollar. I will no longer visit your restaurant due to your demonstrated inability to assimilate into the culture of this country," said one irate former customer in an e-mail sent to Pizza Patron on Monday morning.

Gamm said most of the public response so far had been positive. The group plans a trial run for two months and if it is a success it will extend the peso policy.

The peso/dollar exchange rate being offered at Pizza Patron is 12 to 1 against the current rate of close to 11 to 1 to enable the franchise to cover the costs of converting the pesos at local banks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070108/us_nm/pesos_pizzas_usa_dc

lame

What's the problem?
"This is America, We speak English and our currency is the U.S. dollar. I will no longer visit your restaurant due to your demonstrated inability to assimilate into the culture of this country"

Wow, that's insane. Inability to assimilate into the culture of the country? Andrew Gamm doesn't sound like a Mexican name to me. What the hell are they talking about?

It's just a business trying to make more money and set itself apart from competitors. When I lived in Costa Rica they took US dollars everywhere, and some places took Canadian dollars and Euros as well. I don't see the big deal.

heres a sign of the times.

Whatever they want to do to make money is fine with me.

It was bound to happen anyway.

And? So what?

The chain is going to charge 2 pesos per dollar to cover their costs. The bank will take a piece of that. Some enterprising currency changers may find a new market.

Yep. That's a good thing. Stimulate the local economy a bit, although I don't know whether it needs it down there.

Yeah, I didn't think it was such a big deal either and I live in Dallas! And here's another cultural exchange I've experienced lately. They recently opened a brand new supermarket not far from my house that caters to the Hispanic market. First few times I went shopping there, felt a little out of place (seeing as how I was the only blonde in the store). But I've come to realize that while they may have lots of things on the shelves and in the produce dept I've never even seen before, much less have any idea of how to cook, it's really a pretty cool store!

The selection of fresh produce is amazing and they have a full-service meat market with butchers at your service. ('course, you have to be a little careful there... when I ordered a 'pound and a half' of stewmeat, guess it didn't translate well and got home with two and a half pounds!)

Two other things I've noticed as opposed to my usual 'Anglo' grocer -- these people SHOP! Even on New Year's Day, the store was packed! And the most pleasant surprise... prices are usually MUCH cheaper, especially on specials (like avocados were 4 for $1 last weekend)

Yeah, yeah... I'm concerned about the influx of illegals into this country. And I raised a loud protest when I called the City of Dallas and got a recording that said, "Please press 1 for Espanol, 2 for English" (they dropped that one pretty quick).

But there are advantages to having a variety of ethnic groups around... and that grocery store is one of the best!

Now, can I get a veggie thin crust delivered, please?

This is a good thing....It would be nice for Mexico to drain a little of their economy into the U.S. for a change.

I think the hispanic influence on Texas has been quite positive. You sure don't see taco trucks cruising the neighborhood in Ohio.

There's a taco truck in my old neighborhood in Maryland! Down nearer to the city than I am now though.

There's a taco truck in my old neighborhood in Maryland! Down nearer to the city than I am now though.

Are you guys talking about a roach coach? They do have some pretty good eats, generally. I've seen a few around Vancouver (WA), but only VERY few. They're on every street corner in the LA area. :)

I've never seen a 'taco truck' either. We have lots of Taquerias around (which I understand means something similar to 'home cooked tacos'). And we've got catering trucks (aka roach coaches). But nothing on wheels that sells tacos. Is there really such a thing in Maryland, DF?

Interesting...

There's lots of them, mostly underground because they don't have licenses for it...
And taqueria just means taco shop. Just like zapateria means shoe store (from zapato, which means shoe), and heladeria means ice cream shop (from helado).

I think the hispanic influence on Texas has been quite positive.

Can't say I would go so far as to say that...wait til you see your salary drop because you don't speak Spanish!

It's true that being bilingual is becoming more and more useful in many careers. I think everyone should be bilingual. In many, many countries children are taught two languages from the time they begin school. For example, I talked to a lot of Canadian tourists while in Costa Rica, and they said that all students in Canada learn French starting in kindergarten, even though French is only widely spoken in Quebec. In a lot of countries where the native language is not English, such as Israel and most Spanish of south and central America, children are taught English in school. Although I know from being in Costa Rica that only the wealthier children at better schools will actually learn enough to speak it, but in the big city in Costa Rica, there is someone who speaks fluent English everywhere you go, and most people speak enough that you don't need to speak Spanish to communicate with them.

The funny thing about being bilingual here is that people from Mexico don't speak fluent Spanish. They speak "Tex-Mex" which is more like Spanish slang. Learned that the hard way when I once accompanied a couple of fluent Spanish-speakers across the border where we thought we'd be able to 'barter' better deals because of them. The natives could understand US better than they could understand THEM! I know enough of their language to get by. When it comes to my yardman, pointing works better than words.

When it comes to my yardman, pointing works better than words.
As far as I'm concerned, that's the only reason a white person should learn to speak "Tex-Mex". I mean, seriously, how do you say, "No, Paco - fucking diagonal, not straight.....::motions with hands angrily::.....D-I-A-G-O-N-A-L!" in Spanish???

If they have that many customers who pay in pesos then more power to them. It is a smart move on their part to accept whatever currency they can.

The funny thing about being bilingual here is that people from Mexico don't speak fluent Spanish. They speak "Tex-Mex" which is more like Spanish slang. Learned that the hard way when I once accompanied a couple of fluent Spanish-speakers across the border where we thought we'd be able to 'barter' better deals because of them. The natives could understand US better than they could understand THEM! I know enough of their language to get by. When it comes to my yardman, pointing works better than words.

Mexican Spanish is quite different from the Spanish of anywhere else, almost another language. Although it DOES depend on where in Mexico they're from, they replace so many words with Mexican slang words. Although all of the Mexicans I've met still understand you if you use the proper words for things, they will laugh at you a little if you use a word that means something completely different in Mexican. For example, although this applies to all of South and Central America, in Spain they use the word "coger" as a synonym for "tomar" (to take). However, in American Spanish, the word coger means to fuck. They'll still understand in, say, Guatemala, if you use it as "to take", but you'll get some funny looks.

What's funny along the border is that the bastardized English / Mex speakers don't read Spanish with any more skill than they read or speak English. Much of the effort and expense put forth to provide mulit-language signage is completely wasted. They're nearly illiterate in both languages!

Well that's not their fault. There must be some pretty terrible schools in Mexico.

The impact of the Mexican schools is minimal. Those speaking Tex-Mex or variants are visitors typically to that country.

I've never seen a 'taco truck' either.

Must be a Houston thing. They'd drive around my friends (very nice) neighborhood once or twice a day like an ice cream truck.

Must be a Houston thing. They'd drive around my friends (very nice) neighborhood once or twice a day like an ice cream truck.
I see at least two taco trucks a day. So that's not far off the mark.

I don't think I've ever seen one, since the one in my old neighborhood started coming around after we moved and I rarely go down there. I'm surprised it took that long though, considering the ethnic makeup of that neighborhood. :D

Must be a Houston thing. They'd drive around my friends (very nice) neighborhood once or twice a day like an ice cream truck.
Interesting. I'm thinking there may be a city ordinance against them here. We do have lots of "fruitas" carts around. Probably has something to do with selling cooked foods vs frozen treats since we don't have anything like hot-dog street vendors either.

There was a story in the news a few months ago about a fruitas vendor who was robbed & murdered on his route, which caused quite a stir in the Mexican community. Situation here is... nearly all crimes against Mexicans are committed by other Mexicans and law enforcement doesn't exactly bend over backward trying to solve them.

Which brings up another interesting fact -- our recently elected Sheriff is an Hispanic lesbian. As one can well imagine, that caused quite a stir in City politics!

Ooooh DC has THE BEST hot dog stands...

You've obviously never been to Chicago, DF... ;)

Oh but I will be there... Perhaps in two months. Borg and I have the same spring break. :D

Some people just can't handle the "change" :) (http://www.kcci.com/money/10726851/detail.html)