52 N Pinal has a long history in Superior. In the 1930’s it was Charlie Hanes Market and served as a neighborhood grocery store, ran by a Lebanese businessman. Later it was sold and became Sawaya’s market, sold again to a group who tried to form a cooperative. It only lasted a year before it was sold again not long after World War II and became Leo’s Grocery and Meat Market. The market shut down in 2018 and was purchased in July 2019 to become a community center.

An interview with Raymundo Lopez, the face of Leo’s Grocery and Meat Market.

https://youtu.be/zfJVWPn7YOM?si=cO4BHnRKm93vejK_

Oral history about Leo’s:

https://youtu.be/PNmEOS0w5AE?si=ePGocoqiQTbRvf3i

Not long after basic renovations were completed, a group of sustainability experts from Europe requested to come to Leo’s and give a talk. That was Leo’s Community Development Center’s big debut.

https://youtu.be/mLKvtSe-TV4?si=qooVKoS5GC3X7mfC

Things were off to a strong start and then COVID hit. Instead of bringing people together in the building, we responded to the changing times. We heard from community members that parents were worried about providing meals for their kids because with school closed, they were no longer getting those free title 1 meals they depended on. We were able to form a partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank and secured food and freezers for almost two years. During that time we distributed over 15,000 meals.

https://youtu.be/1q4guOiQttk?si=6svkCeRkKX_vUohW

In October 2022 with the pandemic dying down and our community members comfortable meeting more often in person, we reactivated the building with a series of movie nights to let people know we were meeting again. In December of that same year, we kicked off Supie Tech Club and a month later we held our first Open Mic night. Both of which are going strong to this day. We have since launched a number of other programs and initiatives which you can see at the main Leo’s Community Development Center page. In 2023, thanks to support from caring individuals and organizations, we were able to retire the loan so Regenerating Sonora owns Leo’s free and clear!