Every holiday season, Mission Lotería‘s Luis Quiroz and Fiorella Monteza visit each of the Mission Street corridor’s 400 storefronts several times, attempting to include more in the game.
“That’s valuable for them, and that’s also valuable for us,” said Quiroz, creator of Mission Lotería, a city-funded annual shopping campaign supporting small businesses on Mission Street between 14th and Cesar Chavez streets.
By doing so, he said, “they know that they have people in their corner. They don’t see city officials every day … But when they see us during our campaign time … We’re checking in on them.”
The Mexican-style bingo game and its endearing stickers have been a Mission staple since 2019. To participate, small businesses simply have to give their consent when Quiroz and Monteza, Mission Lotería’s community event specialist, visit. Mission Lotería signs hang in the windows of participating stores, and customers who make any purchase at these stores receive a game board or “tabla,” and an icon sticker from the store.
The sticker can be redeemed for raffle tickets and cash prizes after being verified by Quiroz and Monteza. The duo can be found at special events, which are updated on their official website.
One of Quiroz’s happy moments is when a merchant calls him and says, “Oh, we need more stickers” — a sign that foot traffic is booming. This year, they talked 90 merchants into participating, compared to the 30 that first participated in 2019.
But not all of their local businesses make it. Monteza was nearly heartbroken this year when she found out about the closure of one business with which she had built a one-to-one relationship through years of meetings and emails. She was hurt “extra hard” when Gracias Madre, a vegan restaurant at 18th and Mission streets, closed in August. Their general manager, Joseph Donohue, “was such a great supporter of Mission Lotería. He gave out stickers to every customer,” explained Quiroz, who sat next to her.
Even compared to the pandemic years, this is the year the duo has witnessed the most closures. Il Pollaio, a grilled chicken spot between 24th and 25th streets, where Mission Lotería hosted a game night last year, closed its doors this August. Their longtime supporter, Mission Comics, is in danger of closing. Then there was The Refinery Grooming Club, a barbershop at 22nd and Mission streets. “We went back to restock their supplies, only to see a different name on the window. Like, all of a sudden, they had sold,” said Quiroz.
The duo seek to preserve a memory of the area by selecting sticker icons representing the Mission’s culture and history. To date, some 37 icons have been created by various artists; “EL MUNI 14” and “LOS HOMEYS” are the most popular with Mission residents.
As in traditional Bingo, each card has a number in the upper left corner, some randomly assigned, others carefully selected. “EL MUNI 14” is, of course, Number 14 and “LA QUINCEAÑERA” is Number 15. The number of “ROSCA DE REYES” is 6, because it’s eaten on Jan. 6, Three Kings Day. “LA MATRIARCA” is Number 1, because in American Indian history, the Matriarch birthed everyone.
Selecting representative icons has gradually become somewhat more difficult, and Quiroz and Monteza are seeking community input on future choices. But in the meantime, Quiroz made a commitment. “[Muni] 49, for sure. That’s a big one. That’s definitely coming,” he said.
Although Quiroz grew up in San Diego, he sees his parents reflected in the local business owners. The ladies selling perfume and jewelry on Mission Street sometimes remind him of his own mom, who owned a small store in San Diego that sold beauty projects. And Quiroz’s father, who used to go door-to-door selling special keepsake jewelry out of cases for quinceaneras and special events, was not unlike the vendors on the street.
“I see a lot of them in the businesses that we serve now, where they only speak Spanish. A lot of them, they don’t do technology very well,” he said. “We try to promote as many businesses as we can on our social platforms, especially the ones that don’t have their own presence.”
This year’s Mission Lotería ended on Dec. 9, but Quiroz and Monteza will continue to organize special events, including showing up at El Tiangue at 2137 Mission St. on Jan. 13 and Jan. 20.
In the long run, the duo want to develop Mission Lotería into “a keepsake game that people can buy,” which isn’t a far-fetched idea, considering the number of merchants they have.
As for next year, they are looking at either getting to 100, or paring down to 50, and getting more commitment from the businesses, said Quiroz.
