Art Campos "Senor Campos" pioneer in the Mexican Food Industry

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Art Campos was the Founder of "Campos Foods" established in 1947 & "Senor Campos Restaurants" established in 1964 in Modesto, California 1913-1995

 

Arturo  Rogelio.Campos, was born in 1913 on his father’s cattle ranch in Los Mochis, Sinola Mexico, a small farm town. His father Francisco was a cattle rancher but the family lived in fear during pillaging raids that threatened the community by Poncho Villa and his bandits, during the Mexican Revolution in 1909.

 

When the bandits needed food for their troops, they just took them. Francisco was told to turn over his ranch, cattle and feed for a promisary note, that would NEVER be honored. During those pillaging ransacking and raids his wife Anna would hide Arturo, in the hills to keep him from being killed.

 

Francsico fled with his family and came through the United States in Nogales, Arizona and then made his way up into Utah and worked temporarily on the railroad. He later moved the family to Westwood, California, high up into the mountains and worked in a lumber mill. His mother Anna changed the names of their children, Arturo, to Arthur (Art) to avoid being prejudged.

 

The family lived in a two- bedroom cabin and raised six children. Anna’s two sisters lived with the family as well. During his childhood years, Art shorted from Arturo, by his mother Anna, helped support the family by working odd jobs. After graduating from high school Art, the oldest, decided to drive to Sacramento with his pal to see the Junior College.

 

They stopped and struck up a conversation with the local custodian and when the talk got around to baseball, they learned he was a Junior College baseball coach. He told Art that if he played baseball for the college, he’d guarantee him a full- time job.

 

After the meeting Art raced home to ask his father for advice. Francisco gave Art his blessing and Art and his pal moved to Sacramento where he would play first string third base. After graduating from Sacramento Junior College Art attended Chico State University and played another two years of baseball.

 

In 1938 Art graduated from the University of Berkley. A year later he received his teaching credential. In 1942 Art volunteered into the Navy and served as a Chief Petty officer at the Coco-Solo Submarine Base in Panama. During the war, Art met a fellow from Texas while stationed at the base. They both went to a Mexican restaurant where they served Fritos.

 

After the war ended 1946, they decided to go into the corn chip business in Houston, Texas. A year later the partnership dissolved and Art and his new wife and son moved to Modesto where his brother Ray lived. Art taught Spanish at Modesto High School and a few months later he received a crate carrying a corn grinder and half the equipment shared by his partner.

 

In 1947 Art and Ray decided to establish Campos Foods corn chip business located in a Quonset hut behind the Modesto Junior College. A move by Frito Lay corn chips from Northern to Southern California forced then out of business. The brothers dissolved the business and Art went back to teaching at Modesto High School.

 

The facility sat for a full year while Art tried to sell his equipment. One weekend while displaying the equipment a lady asked art “why not make tortillas; it would be a big hit”. “I don’t know how to make tortillas”, Art the woman said. “I’ll show you how to make them, you use the same equipment”.

 

Later that weekend the lady showed Art how to make the corn tortillas, thus fate entered and Campos Corn Tortillas was born. The first day Art made fifteen dozen tortilla’s and took them to the local Save Mart grocery store chain. The next day Art stopped back in and asked the store manager how sales were. “Great, you sold out all fifteen dozen, bring in more tomorrow and by the way you need a bag to sell them here”!

 

Art Campos Corn Tortillas was a big hit in the Save Mart grocery stores and would become even bigger when he met his faithful friend Phil Berry who owned Berry Distributing. The two pioneered the food industry with Berry’s Kraft and Borden’s food products that delivered all Art’s tortillas throughout the Central Valley and extended from Fresno to Sacramento and the Bay Area to the foothills of California.

 

Art was one of the FIRST to sell, taco and tostada shells and 1pound tortilla chips in the Central Valley. In 1982, the demand for fresh daily tortillas changed America’s eating habits. After that ever grocery demanded tortillas to be distributed daily. Before, that tortillas were always kept in the deli coolers.

 

Campos Foods served all the major grocery chains; Sysco, Food 4 less, Lucky Stores, Fry’s Stores, Safeway, Walmart, Walgreens, and restaurants all carried Campos Foods tortillas and tortilla chips and many other stores and government institutions.

 

In 1964, Art founded Senor Campos Restaurants which were the first fast food restaurant to carry beer and wine. The corporation developed six Mexican Food Restaurants over the next two years from Chico to Turlock. Art was the FIRST again to sell beer and wine in his fast food Mexican chain “Senor Campos”.

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Stephen Paul Campos is the owner of "Senor Campos Salsa", established in 2018, as a way to honor my father and offer his delicious salsa to the public.