“My name is Salvador Loa, owner and founder of Carnicerias Loa. I moved to Dalton from Illinois in 1995 because I wanted the opportunity to have my own house. I had a really good job in Illinois, but I dreamed of owning my own home and having my own business. I also loved the area, the mountains, the weather even when it rains a lot, and the overall environment. I thought I wanted a landscaping business, so I reached out to Mr. Bill Middleton, the person who sold me my first house in Dalton. When I told him about my plans, he introduced me to Mr. Bill Glascock, a really nice man who was the manager of McKensie Realty properties. Instead of a landscaping business, he wanted me to think about something totally different—a grocery store. I knew nothing about grocery stores, but one of his locations in the East Walnut Plaza had refrigerators left from a previous tenant so he thought this was a good idea. I still remember Mr. Glascock’s words, “If you make it, you pay me rent; if you don’t make it, you don’t pay me rent”. I asked for some time to think about it, and called Mrs. Maria Almazan, the owner of the grocery store where I used to buy my groceries in Illinois. I asked to come work for her without pay to learn how to run a business. I explained the offer I had in Dalton, and she welcomed me to her store and gave me a lot of ideas. I was there for about 10 days and learned a lot. I came back to Dalton and told Mr. Bill Glascock I was ready. I will always be thankful to him for this opportunity.
With a little bit of experience in construction work, I started getting the location ready for the meat and grocery market. Carniceria Loa #1 opened on July 16, 1996, and it was the first Hispanic meat market in Dalton. With a little bit of savings and a loan from my sister, Silvia Ramirez, I was able to buy my first walk-in cooler that I really needed for the meat to start my small business. It was a lot of hard work and there were a lot of struggles without all the equipment I needed, and sometimes without places to buy from local distributors I had to go to Atlanta or Illinois myself to buy what I needed to restock empty shelves. My first butcher, Rodolfo Hernandez, was a big help because he was a butcher in Mexico. The two of us processed and prepared the beef and pork, and we cooked carnitas for long hours. Sometimes we even slept in the store because we had to stay all night to watch them. But within weeks, the store was packed and selling almost 80 pigs a week. That was the beginning of Carnicerias Loa. Thanks to God, my wife Monica Loa that has been my support, my family, and friends, my business has grown and now we have been able to have more family time.
I will always be thankful for my decision to move to Dalton. It’s a city where you can ‘START, DREAM, and THRIVE’, and I am an example of that. I love Dalton because it is a very welcoming area for a family to live and work. I now live here with my two beautiful kids, my wife, and my horses. I can honestly say I am living my dream life. I’m extremely thankful for all the work from City of Dalton officials including mayors, inspectors, police officers, councils, etc. They have done a really good job, making beneficial changes for growth and a better city, welcoming and supporting new businesses, but it’s still a small city where everyone knows each other. Lastly, one thing I would like to say is that if you are a good person, work hard, and have good service in your business, you will succeed.”