“I wanted to recreate the authentic Caribbean feeling of a vibrant

atmosphere, friends and family, with delicious homemade food from

abuela’s kitchen."                                        

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~ Sandra

In October 2000, my now ex-husband and I relocated from New Jersey to the Granite state in the hope of being the pioneers of bringing home cooked and fresh Caribbean food to the growing Latino and multicultural population in our state.

It wasn’t until we came to visit a family member in Lawrence, MA that we picked up a newspaper in the nearby Rockingham Mall, that we learned of both the “Civic Center” (Verizon arena: now SHNU Arena) being built in Downtown Manchester and the “MANCHESTER Boston Regional Airport” . We were eager to visit this town so we extended our trip for one more day.

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We looked at the Union Leader and noticed how affordable apartments and housing was. In addition, I also looked at the yellow pages and searched up employment in the city and soon learned that there was a growing Latino community which was employed at CCT (car components) in Bedford and Jacpac (a poultry provision) right off Queen City Avenue where Elliot at Rivers Edge is now located.

Both Luis and I were eager to keep learning of our new city of Manchester. We drove up and down South Willow Street, Elm Street, Bridge and then we found Union Street where we came upon the first Spanish speaking “bodega”,/grocery store.

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We kept driving and a couple of blocks down the street we found our small little shop and with a for Rent sign. We were ecstatic and now left NH with a dream. We then drove back to NJ and spoke about the opportunities NH may offer us and in addition to building a business, it also seemed like a great city to raise our first born whom is now a 22.

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We wanted to serve the diverse growing community in Manchester and bring with us the flavors of our Caribbean heritage. We saw the need of serving authentic Caribbean food to the Latino population and some other cultures in the Queen City.

Supporting her community is important to Sandra. Below is a short list of local organizations she is very involved with. Click a link to learn more:

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NeighborWorks: Community Building and Engagement 

ISN New Hampshire 

Manchester Proud Compass

Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)

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