Commodities Owners

From a side hustle during the pandemic to a prominent storefront in Downtown Arlington, the Commodities is bringing sneaker culture to The American Dream City. After years of hard work collecting sneakers from across the country, and selling online through social media, co-owners Brandon Avaroa and Ashley Flores opened the Cultures Commodities store on Abram Street at the end of 2022.

“I was a bartender, so during the pandemic everything was shut down and there was no work for me,” remembered Avaroa. “I collected on a personal level, so I started selling some of it to bring in extra income during that time.”

After a few months, the side gig continued to grow with Avaroa and Flores teaming up with their business partner who sells vintage clothes and memorabilia. Together, the three of them started traveling to sneaker conventions in different states, hunting down unique finds and building their inventory, brand awareness and their business. Next step was a storefront.

“Brandon always wanted a store. A physical store to display the product,” Flores said. “Being a first-generation college student, we weren’t sure what that looked like. We had to ask what are the obstacles we would be facing as minorities, and not having family members that could hold our hands through this process. It was a lot of figuring it out. Knowing, if we mess up, we had to keep going.”

Avaroa and Flores knew they wanted their store to be in Arlington because it’s a perfect middle ground for sneakerheads across the metroplex. Today, the Cultures Commodities just celebrated six months in their new home in Downtown Arlington.

The Cultures Commodities strives to be a welcoming store for any level of expertise. They love helping first-time buyers and educating them about the value of what they are buying, whether that be shoes or vintage memorabilia. Avaroa also loves a good shoe hunt, helping sneakerheads find rare pairs.

Flores is both an Arlington ISD grad and a University of Texas at Arlington alumna, and together the team has big plans for their business. “In the future, I want to focus on building an organization that will give back to the community of Arlington,” Flores emphasized. “We want to put our roots into Arlington ISD and Arlington.”

You can learn more on the Commodities website, https://theculturescommodities.com/ or visit their Instagram page. You can also visit their store at 200 E Abram Street, Suite 130. Every month they do a raffle for a shoe giveaway, everyone who visits their store is entered. Or you can visit the One Start Development Center, on the second floor at City Hall from June 26 - 30, 2023, during Small Business Promotion week. The City’s Planning and Development Service Department is also hosting Customer Appreciation Week during the same time and will be providing refreshments and bottled water for the customers visiting the Small Business Promotion table.

The City of Arlington is highlighting minority-owned and/or women-owned small businesses throughout 2023. Canales Furniture, another Small Business of Arlington, who has grown substantially in the last few years, wants to give back to the community and is sponsoring this program with the Planning & Development Services Department for the year 2023. In their new headquarters at 102 E. I-20 Highway, they have dedicated a training room for their growing community, including free English-speaking classes, citizenship classes, and teaching small businesses on how to utilize social media as a marketing tool.