Gringo Loco

Gringo Loco is a family-owned neighborhood grocery at 3825 Independence Avenue in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast, combining a full-service carniceria, an in-house Latin American bakery, and everyday household, money-transfer, and bill-payment services under one roof.

Description

Gringo Loco is a neighborhood grocery store sitting prominently on Independence Avenue in the heart of the Historic Northeast. Northeast News describes it as having “grown into much more than a grocery store” — a hub where families find fresh produce and meats, custom cakes, and Central American breads in a single stop.¹

The store is best known for its wide range of Mexican and Latino foods, its complete meat department, and its popular in-house bakery.¹ The carniceria, added during a major expansion, displays fresh cuts in glass cases so customers can see exactly what they are taking home; the bakery counter carries sweets, custom cakes, and fresh breads.¹

Beyond food, Gringo Loco functions as a practical service point for the corridor. Shoppers use it for household essentials, money transfers, and bill payment — the everyday financial infrastructure that immigrant neighborhoods often access through their grocery store rather than a bank branch.¹

Owner Alex Huynh is described as a regular working presence on the floor, greeting customers and helping with day-to-day needs, and as an active supporter of the Independence Avenue Community Improvement District and its corridor-improvement efforts.¹

Ownership and history

Gringo Loco is owned by Alex Huynh, who opened the store with his wife, Cindy Teng, with the stated aim of building a market that reflected the diverse tastes of the surrounding community.¹ As of the October 2025 Northeast News profile, the store had been open “more than a decade.”¹ The Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce directory lists the owner as “Alex Huguh” — an apparent spelling variant of Huynh.²

A documented milestone in the store’s growth is its meat-market expansion. On Thursday, May 5, 2016 — Cinco de Mayo — Gringo Loco held a ribbon cutting and open house to mark the expansion, with Huynh giving attendees a preview of the larger carniceria space ahead of its public opening in early June 2016. Representatives of MU Extension attended as part of the Stock Healthy–Shop Healthy program, offering food samples and healthy-shopping guidance.³

Services

Confirmed from Northeast News reporting:¹

• Grocery — Mexican and Latino foods, fresh produce, household essentials
• Carniceria — full meat department with fresh cuts displayed in glass cases
• Panaderia — in-house bakery: sweets, custom cakes, Central American breads
• Financial services — money transfers and bill payment

Links

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Gringo-Loco-100064172041677/
• Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce listing: https://nekcchamber.com/directory/gringo-loco/

Sources

Footnotes

1. “Gringo Loco is ‘Just Around the Corner’,” Northeast News, October 8, 2025. URL — Asserts: address 3825 Independence Ave; owner Alex Huynh and wife Cindy Teng; opened “more than a decade ago”; carniceria and in-house bakery; money transfers and bill payment; hours 7 a.m.–9:30 p.m. daily; phone (816) 492-6152; Independence Avenue CID support. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, member directory listing — Gringo Loco. URL — Asserts: Gringo Loco, 3825 Independence Ave, Kansas City, MO 64124; owner listed as “Alex Huguh.” ↩

3. “Gringo Loco Open House and Ribbon Cutting,” Northeast News, May 5, 2016. URL — Asserts: May 5, 2016 ribbon cutting for meat market expansion; public opening early June 2016; owner Alex Huynh; MU Extension Stock Healthy–Shop Healthy participation. ↩