Grocery bills have surged. This TikTok viral market in Texas is here to help

These days, going to the grocery store feels like a gut punch.

Looking at the final bill can make anyone’s stomach drop. And that feeling only gets worse when you notice your produce is already going bad.

From 2020 to 2024, food prices increased by about 23%, according to the USDA. That’s why North Texans are turning to a produce market that has gone viral on TikTok.

Here a bag of avocados can cost $1.50. Two pounds of strawberries are $3.99.

With three videos with over a million views in the last few weeks, it’s clear North Texans are eager to lower their grocery bills and want higher-quality options.

Ariana Aguirre, who lives in Seagoville, came to The Cedar Market Ranch in Dallas with her 4-year-old son, Alan, after seeing the market’s TikTok videos. She loaded up on grapes, cucumbers, oranges and five boxes of strawberries, Alan’s favorite.

“If you used to spend like $100 on something, now you spend like $200 plus. It’s a lot,” she said.

Chelsi Lacour also came to the market after seeing Cedar Market’s TikTok videos. The 29-year-old nurse waited in line with her sister as they pulled along a trolley full of kale, green apples, bananas, oranges, limes, green onions and roma tomatoes.

Lacour said it’s wonderful to have a place to go for fresh produce. She lives in a part of West Dallas that’s considered a food desert.

“I didn’t see a lot of things that were beat up or bruised or brown and looked like they had been on the shelves for weeks,” she said.

Arnulfo “Arnie” Perez III’s family runs the market. The commitment to good deals and cutting down on food waste started with his father, Arnulfo Perez II. He started slinging watermelons in the ‘90s at the old Dallas Farmers Market.

“Go to the grocery store and you see people limit themselves to not buy fresh fruits,” Arnie Perez said. “So we saw a little gap and it really fills us inside whenever people come here like, ‘Thank you for these prices. I can shop for my family.’”

How they keep costs down

Thanks to the Perez family’s experience in the produce industry, they’ve learned how to keep prices affordable.

The market started only about a year ago as a way to sell surplus produce. But the Perez family has been working in the produce industry for decades through their distribution center Southcoast Produce across Coombs Street.

In 1995, husband and wife Arnulfo II and Mayra Perez launched the company to distribute fresh produce to local vendors and restaurants.

Now, South Coast has a 32,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse and about 15 employees. Trucks and forklifts roll in and out, delivering the next batch of produce, transporting it to another location or moving it into Cedars Market next door.

One way the Perez family has found good deals for customers is by cutting down on middle men. That means bargaining directly with farmers and managing the transportation of produce.

They also know how to time the market.

“We’ll buy more when it’s cheaper and buy what we need when it’s expensive, so we can balance it out and give it the best price possible,” Arnie said.

The produce at Cedar Market is also usually fresher than a big grocery store. Major grocery stores must ship their produce from a farm to a distribution center where it’ll have to sit for a few days before moving to stores nationwide. But Cedars Market is right next to its distribution center, which is why it can more quickly bring customers produce.

“What you see on our shelves either arrived that morning or got here the day before, but it’s as fresh as can be,” he said.

All in the family

Perhaps the secret to The Cedar Market Ranch’s success is the Perez family themselves. Led by mom and dad Arnulfo and Mayra, everyone has a part to play.

Arnie hops on a call to bargain over bell peppers. A cousin mans the cash register. Then, of course, there’s the small but mighty social media team made up of Andres, the youngest son of the family, and his longtime partner Natalya Melián.

It was Natalya, a public relations major at Texas State University, who had the social media vision that made the market go viral. She started posting videos early last year when they opened and has slowly grown a following.

“I did a video with Andres because I think Andres is very natural. You can tell it’s unscripted. It’s just very genuine,” she said. “That one hit over a million views in less than 48 hours.”

While they saw some surges of attention, with some crowds at the store and influencers posting, those eventually died down.

It was only about a month ago that the Perezes started gaining traction with several reels getting a million views and sustained crowds at the store.

“We had viral ones here and there, but it was never enough to stick it to the point where it is right now,” she said.

They estimate the number of daily transactions jumped from about 200 to a peak of 800 on a recent Saturday.

Andres said people have come from as far as Fort Worth, McKinney and Arlington.

“It’s just awesome to see that they’re willing to come in and visit us and just maybe just take a picture with us,” he said.

The atmosphere inside of Cedars Market is reminiscent of the “old days” when you would know the local grocer. Customers can ask employees how grapefruits are doing or can sample dragon fruit or be offered a complimentary mandarin.

Andres said they’re also working to make sure they “keep the vibes high,” which means bringing in coffee vendors at the end of the week and playing a mix of 80s, Latin, country and rock music. But they’re also hoping to work with more local food vendors and farmers.

These days, the Perez family is just trying to keep up with the growing demand.

But someone smiling at their grocery bill? It’s more than worth it.

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