FIVE POINTS MARKET

FACE TO FACE: FIVE POINTS MARKET

As pandemic woes and shortfalls still linger for many communities and businesses across the nation, some resourceful people have found ways to remain viable through convenience and accessibility.
In Del Rio, the businesses of Rick and Spanky Martinez aptly personify this model.
The couple saw opportunity amid the health-order restrictions and chaos and took direct action in the form of Five Points Market.  
“During quarantine, everything got shut down,” said Spanky. “A lot of the farmers’ markets got shut down. A lot of the art shows got shut down. This actually came because of that.”
The idea for the market germinated while the couple attended weekend events and wondered why the vendors there weren’t offering products in a brick and mortar setting. 
Consequently, the confluence of the virus and their idea turned Five Points Market into a reality and a successful endeavor as business has been booming.
Rick and Spanky prefer to deal with smaller producers who exude excitement about their creations rather than out-of-state distributors that are a cog in the corporate supply chain.
Five Points Market’s goods are also insulated from pandemic challenges Spanky said. Focusing only on Texas products that aren’t delivered via second or third parties, the Martinez’ can consistently provide customers with their products. 
“If anything does happen and we do have another shutdown or anything like that, we are able to go drive…anywhere around Texas we can actually drive and pick up your products,” she said. “We’re not limited to what products you can have and what products you can’t have.”
The Martinez entrepreneurial journey in Del Rio began three years ago at Del Rio Vapor formerly located on Highway 90 heading east out of town. In 2017, the owners sold the business to them. Rick had already been working there. And the second edition of Del Rio Vapor was born. Within six months, they overhauled the advertising, created relationships with numerous distributors and moved locations. Business picked up.
Their singularity of purpose with Del Rio Vapor is to wean people off of nicotine and vaping. That was the intent of the former owners too.
“We still stick to the original program,” Rick said. “And the original goal is to get people off of anything that they’re inhaling, completely.” 
He said continuing to sell nicotine products to people who don’t need it is akin to being a drug dealer. “It’s like selling medication to someone that doesn’t need it.”
The couple says they have helped nearly 9,000 people quit smoking and vaping.
The couple now owns three establishments in the Buena Vista section of town all located in the strip mall on Margaret Lane by The Spot.
The third business is a CBD shop which opened its doors in 2019. Healthy commerce has kissed that business too. “We got the highest legal-grade products in Texas,” Rick said. 
Rick is a native Del Rioan and Spanky is from Rocksprings. They met in Kerrville and were married there relocating to the desert confines of Del Rio a decade ago.
Most of the merchandise at Five Points Market is exclusive and can only be purchased there or at arts and crafts festivals or farmers’ markets statewide. Several of the items don’t have an online presence.   
Almost all of the products are Texas-made and naturally produced. Their items have a wide geographical range as well; unique honey from Quemado, gourmet pasta from Round Rock—the sauce in the flour, epic herbal teas created in Seguin and pottery made completely out of Rio Grande clay by an artisan in Eagle Pass.
Those are just a few examples from the array of specialty products that are smartly displayed throughout the well-lit and exceptionally clean store.
Additionally, Five Points has fresh organic or hydroponic produce — longer shelf life than organic — every Friday.
But their soda pop is the prime seller. Made at the famous Dublin Bottling Works in Dublin, Texas, the first plant to bottle the iconic Dr. Pepper soft drink, Five Points began with 12 cases in its first week of operation then soon increased that to 24 cases and now are up to 60 cases per week. The natural beverage is made with pure cane sugar and holds its carbonation extremely well. 
“I left one open about halfway and the next morning I figured it’s going to be a flat soda so I just dumped it out in the sink. When I dumped it out it was fizzing everywhere…so the next day I did it again but I left it out and I drank it and I was like, ‘Whoa, this is still like you just opened the bottle.’”
The pleasant and satisfying revelation of Spanky’s experience simply invites and begs everyone to visit Five Points Market and own their experience with one of the many distinctive and useful products that line the shelves and inhabit the display cases.