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Ray Estrella, the second oldest son, purchased property in Hightown in 1928. He built the Estrella Market on the corner of McClintock Road and Chandler Boulevard. The little adobe store had living quarters in the back, where the family lived. The Estrella Market was a general store that sold meat, groceries, and dry goods. His daughter, Stella, remembered how the hot dogs came in cheesecloth and were hung in the cooler. She also recalls, “A lot of families there at Hightown charged their groceries during the week, and then when they got paid at the end of the week, they’d come in and pay. He had us girls help him on Fridays.” The store also had gas pumps in the front. Customers included local ranchers, sheepherders, people at Hightown, and laborers who lived and worked at the ranches. The closest stores at that time were in Guadalupe and Kyrene. American Indians came from the reservation in their wagons on Saturdays with wood, which they traded for supplies. By 1939, the family decided to rent out the store and move into town. Ray leased his store to various individuals, until the Espinoza family came to run the old market in 1967. Many members of the large Estrella family still live in Chandler and the Valley.
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