Oxxo convenience stores are springing up all over downtown Tijuana. This reporter counted ten while walking the eight blocks along Avenida Constitución from Calle Ocho to Calle Primera (more than one store per block). It appears that each downtown block has at least one Oxxo store on each facet of its quadrant.

What is Oxxo? According to Wikipedia, the Oxxo corporation is Mexican-owned and based in Nuevo León, Monterrey, MX. They are a subsidiary of the FEMSA beverage company and were originally established in 1977 to sell the company’s beer from Cervecería Cuauhtémoc; since then, more than 9500 Oxxo stores have opened throughout Latin America.

In less than two years, the company has opened an estimated 20 stores in Tijuana’s Centro district, moving into spaces previously occupied by independent operators. The newest Tijuana store is in the Zona Norte nightclub district, where it is open 24-7.