La Borinquena Mex-icatessen & Specialty Shop

Address:

582 7th St, Oakland, CA 94607

Phone:

(510) 444-9954

Hours:

Tue: 9am-3:30pm
Wed: 9am-3:30pm
Thu: 9am-3:30pm

Fri: 9am-3:30pm
Sat: 9am-3:30pm

Other Details:

In 1944, Rosa Lopez Velasquez realized her dream of opening a small grocery store. She located a business on the corner of 5th and Brush in West Oakland. Rosa made all the necessary preparations including borrowing money from her neighbors in order to have money in the cash register. There was one small problem: her husband was not the budding business owner. She decided to make a deal. A very good question and one we get asked often. In this case, it was a deal. Rosa's entrepreneurial spirit was strong considering it was pre-1950. In order to convince her husband to support her dream, she gave him the opportunity to name the business. Sometimes in a marriage compromises have to be made. Rosa and Adriano Velasquez were no exception. Adriano was an immigrant originally from the island of Puerto Rico. Natives refer to their homeland as Borinquen. La Borinque a is a female from Puerto Rico. Ironically, Rosa was from Jalisco, Mexico and was raising her nine children with the customs and foods from her native country. Her store was no different ; La Borinque a was a true tienda mexicana. When asked what items she carried from Puerto Rico, her reply was gandules y mi viejo, which translates into pigeon peas and my old man. La Borinque a's humble beginnings did not last very long. Oakland was changing and Rosa's store had to relocate. Change also brought expansion.

Restaurants, Food Products Retail, Mexican, Food Products

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