Our story
A legacy that crossed the ocean
Casa José Ribeiro honors José Ribeiro Sobrinho, a Portuguese immigrant and merchant who helped pioneer commerce in Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais, alongside other families who drove the town's development in the first half of the 20th century.
- 1901
Born in Fafe, northern Portugal.
- Age 14
In the middle of World War I, he sails alone on a cargo ship from Porto to Rio de Janeiro. He works as a tram driver and a waiter, learning at the “school of life”.
- 1925
Marries Hilda da Glória Sarmento and moves to Manhuaçu at the invitation of his uncle Manoel Joaquim Ribeiro, who ran a general store there.
- 1930s
He takes over the business, renamed José Ribeiro Sobrinho & Cia., and builds the store bearing the “CASA RIBEIRO” sign on Av. Barão do Rio Branco. It sold everything from groceries to tools and brought goods from overseas: tires, cement, German cutlery, Norwegian cod prepared in Porto and European wines.
- Rio–Manhuaçu
Opens an import–export warehouse in Rio de Janeiro and builds a truck fleet, RIMA (Rio–Manhuaçu).
- 1942
Dies on September 20. Committed to the town, he supported the building of São Lourenço Church and served as steward of César Leite Hospital. On the day he died, Manhuaçu's shops closed in his honor.
Historical photographs from the family archive, digitally restored and colorized.
Today his great-grandson, Professor Guilherme Almeida, carries on that calling: sourcing products from across the sea that transform spaces, and delivering them with the trust of a family trading house.
Source: ALMEIDA, Ivonne Ribeiro de. Fragmentos da história de Manhuaçu. Jundiaí: Author's edition, 2008, pp. 51–60.