Seymour Savings hands out goodies to kids at the grand opening of El Rey’s original location, inside Nana’s Market.
Since its opening almost 20 years ago, our El Rey branch has undergone plenty of change and relocation. But as the office prepares to kick things off in its new building on Monday, one thing remains a constant: a commitment to taking the best possible care of our customers.
Alfredo Martin helps a young vaquero cut the ribbon at the 2004 grand opening.
When the branch opened in June 2004 inside the El Rey Nana’s Market Mexican Grocery store, it was North Shore Bank’s 40th location. Putting a full-service branch inside the supermarket was a big moment in a deliberate, ongoing effort to serve customers from a growing demographic. At the time, market owner Beto Villareal noted our “demonstrated commitment to providing financial services and education to the Latino community” on Milwaukee’s south side.
The new location, which opens Monday, February 20.
Even before opening the branch, North Shore had been reaching out to Latinos. In 2002, we became the first financial institution based in Wisconsin to accept matricula consular IDs. Issued by the government of Mexico, these cards could be used as proof of identity by Mexican immigrants who didn’t have Social Security cards or other documentation typically required to open an account with an American bank. North Shore Bank let consular ID holders open special checking and savings accounts that came with free financial literacy education in Spanish, as well as ATM cards that could be sent back to family members still in Mexico, who could then withdraw cash without paying the higher fees associated with wire transfers.
Mexican immigrants fill out matricula consular applications provided by North Shore Bank at Milwaukee’s United Community Center in 2002.
As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2002, we teamed up with the Mexican Consulate to help immigrants sign up for matricula consular cards; thousands of people got their cards through these drives. As a result of these efforts and others, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin named North Shore Bank its 2004 Corporation of the Year.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that we’ve worked to provide support and financial education to Milwaukee Latinos for so long, given that, since its inception, the El Rey branch has been led by Alfredo Martin, who celebrated his 20th anniversary with North Shore Bank last month. As he put it: “I have seen a lot of growth and understanding within the financial industry in addressing financial literacy challenges within the Latino community. We are not there yet, but we are going in the right direction.”
The ribbon cutting when the branch relocated to the Foodmart in 2007.
El Rey after the 2019 renovations.
In 2007, the branch moved from Nana’s to the El Rey Foodmart, another grocery store owned by the Villareal family. Major renovations in 2019 gave the location a nice facelift and were promoted with a weeklong celebration.
The newest space, at South 13th and Historic Mitchell streets, is just a short walk around the corner from the Foodmart. With private offices and a larger lobby, staff will be able to offer even better service to the loyal customers the branch has attracted over two decades. North Shore Bank’s commitment to El Rey’s customers and community remains stronger than ever.