Louis Flores Ruiz, 88; founded frozen Mexican food company

Louis Flores Ruiz, who transformed a tiny family business that sold homemade enchiladas into the largest manufacturer of frozen Mexican food in the U.S., has died. He was 88.

Ruiz, who had been in failing health for the last three years, died Sunday at his home in Dinuba, Calif., his family announced.

The massive growth of Ruiz Foods -- founded in 1964 in the San Joaquin Valley -- reflected the rise of the Latino population in the U.S. and the country’s growing appetite for ethnic food.

The privately held corporation is the largest Latino-owned manufacturing firm in California and had $326 million in revenue in 2005, according to Hispanic Business magazine.

Ruiz’s family fled his native Chihuahua, Mexico, in the early 1920s after Pancho Villa seized their land. Ruiz was 5 when he arrived in Los Angeles.

Ruiz’s first job as a young boy was selling feather dusters door-to-door for 10 cents apiece in Los Angeles. He sometimes held two to three jobs at a time.

In the 1950s, he moved his family to Tulare, Calif., and went into business with four brothers and a brother-in-law.

They opened a factory that has been recognized as a pioneer in the automation of tortilla-making.

Seeking a new entrepreneurial adventure, he started Ruiz Foods with his son Fred in a small Tulare warehouse.

“He always said if you want to do anything in this country, you need to go into business for yourself,” Fred Ruiz told the Tulare Advance-Register in 2002.

Twice in the first five years they ran out of money, the Advance-Register reported.

“When the company was just over a year old, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it,” Fred Ruiz told Latino Leaders magazine in 2004. “One morning I sat my dad down and expressed my concerns.

“ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I guess we’ll just have to work harder.’ I’ve never forgotten that lesson.”

Today, the company’s signature brand, El Monterey, accounts for 30 cents of every dollar spent on frozen Mexican food, according to Ruiz Foods. The company long ago expanded into tamales and burritos and now makes about 200 products.

“What made the company successful was the quality of food they make, and they are always innovating,” John Ponce, who had known Ruiz for 35 years, told The Times this week.

“Louis and Fred had wild dreams, but they all became reality,” said Ponce, a La Habra manufacturer of equipment for making Mexican food.

In the beginning, the senior Ruiz wore two hats. He would don a business suit to sell the frozen enchiladas, then slip into a nearby gas station, change into work clothes and retrieve a truck parked nearby to make the delivery.

At first, Fred did most of the cooking on a two-burner gas stove, armed with his mother Rosita’s recipes.

By 1983, they had 200 employees and were named Small Business Persons of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Accepting the award from President Reagan at the White House was a highlight of Louis’ life, a company spokeswoman said.

“One of the things Californians miss the most when they come here to Washington is Mexican food. So please, stay with it,” Reagan said amid laughter while presenting the award.

Ruiz Foods, with headquarters in Dinuba, near Fresno, now employs more than 2,500 people and is one of the nation’s largest tortilla producers.

Born Oct. 30, 1918, Ruiz was the son of Luis Ruiz, who worked on the railroad after coming to the U.S., and his wife, Lucita.

By 1944, Ruiz was newly married and became a U.S. citizen when he joined the Army. As a military policeman, he served in the Philippines during World War II and was discharged at the end of 1945.

He retired from Ruiz Foods in 1990, and a third generation of Ruizes now largely runs the company.

Ruiz was divorced from his first wife. In addition to his son, Fred, he is survived by his wife of 22 years, JoAnn; four daughters; three brothers; a sister; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Instead of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Ruiz 4 Kids, Louis F. Ruiz Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 37, Dinuba, CA 93618.

valerie.nelson@latimes.com