A Guide to Latino-Owned Shops & Boutiques in Greater Philadelphia

This coffee brand is a multigenerational Puerto Rican family operation with roots that date back 40 years, when Obel Hernandez Senior worked at Maxwell House. He then brought his institutional knowledge to Philly in 2013, opening Bean2Bean coffee roastery in Port Richmond with his sons, Obel Junior and Gabriel.

The owners have since expanded their Philly footprint with a full daytime cafe and event space inside Billy Penn Studios in Olde Kensington, in addition to being on retail shelves and restaurant menus around the city. Grab a bag of locally inspired beans or try seasonal specials like sweet plantain lattes at the cafe.

Casa Vida specializes in bespoke items for the home, body and mind. Colombian shop owner and jewelry maker Linda Smyth (also of We Who Prey in New York) encourages conscious shopping and personalized style creations with textile designs, clothing, jewelry, artwork, apothecary and more.

Casa Vida also hosts ongoing events and artist curations featuring vintage treasures and new indie designers.

You might hear music from down the street before you even see the muraled storefront along Lehigh Avenue, thanks to exterior speakers piping out various genres of Latin music.

Take a step inside Centro Musical, an institution for nearly 70 years, and explore a plethora of instruments (for Latin music and beyond), plus records and CDs, gifts, novelties and specialty items, many from Puerto Rico.

If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a stellar in-store performance or impromptu jam.

Don’t be fooled: This uber-colorful Italian Market boutique isn’t a chocolate shop. It’s a destination for exploring Mexican culture through its traditional arts and crafts.

Inside ChocoArte is an impressive array of handcrafted items from Mexico, including pottery, masks, decorations, textiles and statement attire in every color imaginable — plus a ton of items for your Día de Los Muertos altar.

Owner Louis Quiles brings touches of his Puerto Rico-meets-Philly heritage through coffee, clothing and sneakers at his Fishtown shop, Encanto Kicks & Coffee — and as the Encanto Coffee Co. cart inside the North Philly auto shop, Detailing World Philly.

The vibrant and colorful shop has a curated inventory of high-end sneaker releases and apparel brands and regularly hosts events with artists and musicians.

Born in Ecuador, Mike Andino started performing salsa in 2001 and, in 2004, became a founding member of Art in Motion Latin Dancers.

For 20 years, Andino has taught private and group lessons in salsa, cha-cha-cha, mambo and bachata. Outside of the Fishtown studio, Estilo Dance Studio hosts all-level group dance classes at Bok Bar, Brasil’s Nightclub, Triple Bottle Brewing, Liberty Point and other venues.

There’s no such thing as too hot for spicy fans of Kensington’s FAIYA hot sauce company.

Founded by Radhi and Mónica Fernández as a pandemic project, FAIYA’s organic small-batch hot sauces feature seasonal ingredients and traditional flavors (“Sweet Summer Heat” features lime, pineapple and jalapeño), plus special collaborations like “La Parchita” with Amy’s Pastelillos of Fishtown.

Hear more from Fernandez on season 3, episode 19 of our Love + Grit podcast.

A deep-rooted community art center that aims to promote Puerto Rican culture and Latino arts, Taller Puertorriqueño offers arts education programs, author events and art exhibitions at its West Kensington museum space.

Inside Taller is Julia de Burgos Bookstore — the only Spanish/English bilingual specialty bookshop in Philadelphia — which specializes in works by Latino authors and books about Latin America and social justice.

The shop also sells art and gifts (jewelry, tote bags, candles) handcrafted by Latino artists and artisans, with plenty of local representation.

Founded in 2012 by then-Temple University undergrads Gabriela Sanchez and Erlina Ortiz, Power Street Theater has become a vital collective of multidisciplinary artists and activists serving Philadelphia’s Latino community.

This mission-minded group aims to create meaningful change and to preserve cultural storytelling through accessible live theater shows, professional-led classes and workshops, open mics, and reading series around the city.

Tickets to shows, festivals and a branded merch line are available online.

Project Capoeira started in 2001 and celebrates the culture and traditions of Brazil. Led by Afro-Brazilian social educator Adenilson Dos Santos, the organization serves 15,000 individuals annually with year-round performances, workshops and all-ages ASCAB Capoeira classes. Think: samba, forró, pagode, capoeira and samba-reggae.

The project’s Brazilian Day Philadelphia Series, an annual festival inclusive of flag ceremony, martial arts, music, dance and acrobatic performances, is the largest Brazilian cultural celebration in Pennsylvania.

One of Philly’s largest game cafes occupies a three-story location on South Street with plenty of family-friendly fun.

The fantasy-style tavern features two dedicated bars, outdoor seating, a massive board game library with 2,000-plus titles, a retro video game arcade and expansive youth programs. Weekly events and game nights draw in crowds, but there are also games for sale online and on-site (including The Shoppe next door, open Thursday through Sunday).

Stay tuned for a sci-fi-themed second location in Fairmount.

For Honduran event florist Rosa Flores, flowers are more than just decoration: They are a way to celebrate joyful moments and honor family traditions. In addition to deliveries and floral design services for events, her namesake business, launched in 2022, operates as a mobile floral studio called Poppy.

Through events, pop-ups and hands-on floral workshops, attendees learn the techniques, materials and styles to create their own arrangements — and continue practicing on their own.

While Flores is best known for quinceañeras and other special occasions, she loves transforming ordinary spaces into memorable experiences that tell a story and reflect each client’s personality and culture.

Since 2011, Dominican wellness entrepreneur Cristina Espaillat has run her NoLibs yoga, dance and Pilates studio with all-levels classes.

Espaillat brings her experience as a trained dancer (she was a faculty member at Philadelphia Ballet) to wellness and fitness, teaching other women and moms-to-be restorative practices across yoga, ballet and Pilates.

Private and group classes range from gentle pre-natal support movements to advanced ballet sequences and challenging sculpt sessions that result in a full-body and mind workout.

Based at Penn’s Landing, Sea Philly — a private picnic boat offering intimate excursions on the Delaware River — is led by a small team of Latina women.

Experiences include multi-hour luxury charters (for up to six people), private dock events, hospitality collaborations and specialty cruises on boats originally built in the ’50s and ’60s.

The Argonaut, founder Georgette Luna’s 1961 27-foot-long mahogany picnic boat, was named Philadelphia magazine’s best place to pop the question for good reason: It’s easily one of the most romantic settings, especially at sunset.

Wilde & Lovely is a thrifted apparel and accessories shop founded by Liana Vazquez-Calabrese (a Philly native) and Christian Calabrese, a husband-and-wife duo of Indigenous, Puerto Rican and Colombian heritage.

Christian specializes in headpieces like caps and hats, many of which are inspired by Latin American horsemen, while Liana’s background is in art and florals — with all their custom designs rooted in sustainability.

In addition to their online shop, the Calabreses host in-person pop-up markets that fuse community-minded projects with art, nature and culture.

This Brazilian-owned butcher shop and grocery store has multiple locations in North Philly.

Local shoppers come here for the variety of fresh produce, pantry items, postres and prepared foods representative of Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and other South American cuisines.

Other popular offerings include hot meals and dishes from the grill like empanadas y pastelillos, steak sandwiches, and rice and beans.

This family-owned Mexican ice cream shop on South 12th Street is a sweet treat dream.

Paletas, handmade ice cream, milkshakes, fresh fruit plates (like chopped mango topped with chamoy and tajín), quintessential snacks (like elote), and juices (like tamarind shaved ice) are just a sliver of the options here.

Bonus: Many items are vegan-friendly.

This father-daughter business began as a paleta-making hobby and has since grown into an artisanal ice cream brand available online and in local supermarkets.

Helados Chupi Chupi’s all-natural frozen treats feature flavors inspired by Caribbean and Latin American traditions — and are also available for catering or as a mobile ice cream bicycle and popsicle cart. Its newest addition: A specialty coffee cart called Chupi Coffee.

In a city filled with neighborhood markets and small grocers, one of the most beloved for Latin American food and ingredients is South Philly’s J&J Supermarket.

The stocked-to-the-rafters grocery carries thousands of cultural staples, fresh produce and hard-to-find imports (think bacalao and salchichon) from Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico and owner Juan Carlos Romano’s native Dominican Republic, along with a generous hot food bar.

Romano personally purveys his favorite items (like Taino cookies and galletitas de leche), and revels in the diversity of his clientele, reflecting the neighborhood’s rich mix.

The Lucci family from Argentina is passionate about making healthy and delicious vegan and gluten-free food accessible.

The vegan grocer, bistro and deli has multiple retail locations around Philadelphia — including Reading Terminal Market — offering fresh, frozen and microwavable prepared meals and pantry ingredients alongside an array of vegan and gluten-free sandwiches, soups and pastries.

Select locations also include breakfast (served all day), lunch and dinner available to-go, for delivery and catering.

Fishtown husband-and-wife team Nicholas Ducos and Francesca Galarus founded Mural City Cellars to celebrate regional wine (sourcing grapes from roughly 300 miles around Philly) through an accessible, inclusive, and fun neighborhood wine bar.

Highlights include award-winning Pet-Nat Blanc, Pet-Nat Rosé and hybrid varietals available by the glass, bottle or wine club membership. Beyond the living room-style tasting room and bottle shop, there’s a family-friendly wine garden across the street where kids and pets are welcome, and a rotating lineup of local vendors and entertainers keeps the space lively.

Hear more on season 2, episode 18 of our Love + Grit podcast.

Tenango was launched in 2023 by El Merkury’s Sofia Deleon, who was inspired by her great-grandmother’s story of making Guatemalan moonshine with sugarcane 100 years ago.

Through bartender collaborations and cocktail specials at bars and restaurants around the city, Deleon is on a mission to educate Americans on high-quality, premium Guatemalan rum.

Pick up a bottle at Fine Wine & Good Spirits throughout Greater Philadelphia, or order a Tenango rum cocktail at your favorite bar.

From Amy’s Pastelillos (named Esquire’s favorite Puerto Rican spot) to multigenerational Rittenhouse Square institution Tequilas Casa Mexicana, there are scores of incredible spots in Philly for dinner, drinks and dessert.

For more, check out our roundup of more than 40 of the best Latino-owned Philly eateries.