Cresencio was so proud of his last name that he didn’t think twice when they asked him what he would call the new business everyone in Motul was talking about. “It will be called Novelo’s Convenience Store” he said without blinking. Although he didn’t know much about his own bloodline, Cresencio knew the history of the Novelo family very well, and he had been raised as one of them.

He arrived in Motul looking for fortune. The first step on his career path was the store he loved. It opened when the first rays of morning light appeared, a few minutes before five o’clock. At around three in the afternoon Cresencio started filling the kerosene lamps of the Luz Diamante de Longman and Martinez company, imported from New York. He was there until ten at night, when he went home to rest. He worked long hours and closed only on Sundays. But he knew that this was the only path to reaching his dreams.

There was a wide variety of products on his counters and shelves. From sewing needles to heavy farming equipment. But the most popular items were Mexican and international foodstuffs. Rice from Campeche, cocoa from Tabasco, coffee and beans from Veracruz, cod from Norway, cheese from Holland, beer from Germany, table wine from Burgandy, dried fruit and ham from Spain. He passed his days looking at these products, and creating business ties with their distributors.

He liked his store, but he had bigger dreams, and when the first opportunity arose in May of 1882, he crossed the Atlantic, touching European soil for the first time. His destination was Hamburg, Germany. He arrived full of hopes and dreams, and he was ready to take the next step on his path. He took many trips and thanks to his concentrated efforts, there were few missteps. And that was how, as someone had predicted, he carried the name he had been given far and wide: Novelo.