Food City’s Melissa Santos Shares the Story Behind the Numbers

The Big Picture

Melissa Santos, Director of Finance and Marketing for Food City Supermarkets, will speak at UTEP on Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 4–6 p.m. at the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center.

Her talk, “Budgeting, Forecasting, and Storytelling,” explores how a third-generation, family-owned grocery chain has thrived in the borderland since 1964 — and how numbers can tell stories of purpose, people, and perseverance.

Her visit is part of a speaker series hosted by the Center for Family and Small Business.

Why It Matters

Family businesses are the heartbeat of El Paso’s economy. Santos brings over a decade of experience balancing growth with tradition — showing how data, narrative, and values work together to keep a legacy alive.

From navigating family dynamics to building trust with customers, her insights bridge the financial and the human sides of running a multigenerational company.

Event Details
Free and open to all UTEP students, faculty, staff, and the public. Seating is limited. To RSVP, email jjhoffman@utep.edu.

About the Speaker

Melissa Santos leads finance and marketing for Food City Supermarkets, the family business her grandfather founded more than 60 years ago. Before joining the company, she worked in the nonprofit sector.

She holds a Finance degree and Public Policy minor from the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s in Theology from the Augustine Institute. Under her leadership, Food City was recently named Best Grocery Store and Best Local Business in the El Paso Times “Best of the Border 2025” awards.