For more than 30 years La Probadita has been woven into the fabric of this community by a family whose roots are planted in service to others. As one steps into this Mexican grocery store and restaurant in downtown Hart, the vibrant Hispanic culture instantly envelops you. From the savory smell of the authentic cuisine they make to the shelves filled with a vast array of colorful options to the piñatas hanging from the ceiling, the experience is truly an immersive one into the traditions of Oceana County’s Hispanic community.
In the early 1970s, José Luna, the original owner of La Probadita, immigrated from Michoacán, Mexico, to the United States. Starting out in California and later Chicago, he eventually made his way to Michigan. In 1975, he was working in Holland at General Electric, while he and his wife, Idriana, raised their two children, Maria and José Jr.
While still living in Holland, the Lunas traveled north to reconnect with some of their relatives. “My dad actually came to Shelby to visit some distant family members that he found out were working up here,” recalled José’s daughter and current La Probadita owner, Maria Rosas. “It started with a box of tortillas we had brought them. The next week my dad said he was going to go back. So they called us a couple of days before and asked if we could bring more tortillas. So Dad brought other stuff as well, and they ended up telling their neighbors, and they told their neighbors. So what turned into a family visit is what ended up starting it all for us.”
In the late 1980s, General Electric in Holland closed down, and in 1990 José decided to move his family to Ludington. While there, they provided grocery deliveries to migrant farms and families spanning across Oceana, Mason and Manistee counties. “Someone had lent my dad a suburban, and it was a family affair,” Maria said. “So my mom, dad, brother and myself would come and go from farm to farm.”
When Maria was 16, the Lunas moved from Ludington to Hart and opened La Probadita in 1998. Originally, they were trying to decide between opening in Shelby or Hart, but as Maria recalls, “I remember telling my dad that if people come from Walkerville, they have to come down this road (State Street). And if they go to the Spanish Mass (at St. Gregory's Catholic Church), they have to come to Hart, and the post office and courthouse are right down the street, so I think this is where we should be.”
At night, José would still deliver groceries to migrant camps to bring in extra money while the store was getting started. “On Sundays, we would be busier because people would get the day off, and they’d go to church, and then go to Walmart, and then they came to our store,” Maria recalled. Eventually, when La Probadita took off, José stopped running routes and helped out at their store.
Once Maria had graduated from high school, José pushed her to go to college and experience more of the world. She attended Baker College in Muskegon for two years, earning her Associates of Applied Science degree. Soon after she graduated, Maria was hired at Ludington Hospital as a surgical technician. After her time there, she worked at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and eventually became a travel surgical technician.
“I got married to my husband Ramón in 2008. At the time, I worked at Shelby Hospital and ended up staying in the area. And not too long after that I had a baby,” Maria said. “So I had a baby, a job at the hospital, and the store, and I realized one of these needed to go, and the baby was not going back to where it came from, so I stopped working at the hospital and just stayed in the store.”
In 2010, José retired from La Probadita, and Maria took over as the new owner. Under Maria’s supervision, the store has undergone many changes. Some of which include central air conditioning, several new coolers, a new POS system and checkout lanes. When Maria first started, she also brought in her mother-in-law to start working as their chef in the restaurant. “Because of her, it’s gotten very popular. I think prior to that we didn’t have a big Anglo population coming into the store, but now we have people coming from all over to try our food,” Maria noted.
Along with running the store, Maria is very involved within the community. She is on the board for both the Oceana Hispanic Center and Hart TIFA; is the head of the finance committee for St. Gregory's Catholic Church; and helps with the Hart Economic and Redevelopment Team. One of Maria’s most prominent passions is helping at the Hispanic Center. One of the center's main focuses is on DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which gives immigrant children status to be in the country and not get deported. “It’s always pulled at my heartstrings because we exist because of the Hispanic community. They’re the reason our doors were opened, and I feel like I have to give back in that aspect, even if it's just going to their board meetings,” Maria said.
Maria also continues to help migrant workers outside of La Probadita with her annual Spring Sweatshirt Drive. It started in 2021, when she stumbled upon another organization collecting sweatshirts for migrant workers. “When the workers would get bused in, they wouldn’t know how cold it gets up here. So we started collecting sweatshirts, long sleeves and even socks for them to wear while picking,” said Maria. “People started to drop off clothing at the store, and so I reached out to the organization to drop the donations off, but they said they already had a bunch. So I gave them out that year, and ever since then.”
La Probadita, located at 19 S. State St. in Hart, is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. "If the H-2A buses call and say they’re going to be an hour late, I’ll wait for them at the store because they’re not able to get groceries anywhere else at night,” Rosas explained.
La Probadita is truly a friend to migrant families and the Hispanic community. The grocery store and restaurant have served through a message that Maria’s father, José, once said: “If I can come from Mexico with nothing, then you can accomplish anything because you live in the land of opportunity.”
