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

Open since 2020, Blissful Aesthetics and Wellness offers self-care services including anti-aging and anti-wrinkle treatments, hyaluronic dermal fillers, platelet-rich plasma injections and treatments and products for skin care, hair restoration, weight loss and more. Founder Marybell Rodriguez, a double board-certified nurse practitioner with a background in vascular surgery, interventional cardiology and endovascular medicine, offers services, treatments and plenty of products at her Fishtown shop and studio for both men and women that make for great gifts.

In a digital and disposable world, the classic gift of beautiful hand-designed stationery, journals, wedding invitations and other high-end artisanal paper goods never goes out of style. That’s the timeless story at Casa Papel, founded by Cecilia G. Torres, who designs invitations, note cards, holiday cards, Italian folio sets, bound journals, announcements, letterhead, business cards and more beautiful communications sold through Casa Papel’s web store. Shop online or by appointment at the spot’s colorful consultative studio for customized service.

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, a Kensington 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 let the name fool you. The chocolate in ChocoArte (formerly Chocolate Art & Crafts) is a culture, a lifestyle and a vibe at this uber-colorful Italian Market arts and crafts boutique. Located a block from the East Passyunk cheesesteak corner, ChocoArte offers an impressive array of handcrafted items from Mexico including pottery, masks, decorations, textiles, statement attire in every color imaginable and a ton of items for your Día de Los Muertos altar.

Lover of fresh kicks and even fresher coffee, owner Louis Quiles found the perfect blend with his new dream spot, Encanto Kicks & Coffee. The vibrant and colorful shop sells sneakers and apparel, as well as imported Puerto Rican coffee and scrumptious pastries. The drink menu also features cappuccinos, matcha, chai and more. Want to kick back and stay a while? Grab a table and play a board game or two.

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 and Latina artists and artisans, with plenty of local representation.

Along North Philly’s 5th Street shopping corridor, Patricia Arcila’s Latin Fashion sits as an icon for Latina apparel designs and positive body image. Specializing in form-fitting jeans and stylish undergarments, intimate apparel and shapewear, Latin Fashion is the first store in Philadelphia to specialize in Colombian items like faja, lingerie, leggings, corsets and girdles. Seeking to project a positive and healthy image for women of all sizes, the shop even features its own brand of girdles made in Colombia.

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. With a mission to create meaningful change in the theater world and within multicultural communities and preserve cultural stories, the organization offers both community-driven live theater shows and professional-led classes and workshops in writing and performance at locations around the city. Tickets to shows, festivals and a branded merch line are available online.

A full-fledged game emporium in Queen Village, Queen & Rook Game Cafe features a wide variety of puzzles and novelty board games, including some locally produced. An analog game room, neighborhood pub and eclectic burger shop in one, the cozy spot features games to play while browsing in-store or grabbing a bite from the full restaurant menu (lots of vegetarian and gluten-free selections), a coffee from an eclectic café selection, a craft beer or fantasy-themed cocktail from the well-stocked bar. Pick up a favorite game to go for the perfect gift.

Based at Penn’s Landing, Sea Philly — a private picnic boat offering excursions on the Delaware River — is one of just a handful of riverboat companies in the country owned by a woman, and possibly the only by a Latina woman. Imagine the joy of presenting a loved one with the gift of an intimate picnic cruise aboard the Argonaut, Georgette Luna’s 1961 27-foot mahogany Chris Craft, for a romantic voyage that can include perks like charcuterie service or free swimming expeditions. The Argonaut was even named Philadelphia magazine’s best place to pop the question.

Billing itself as the “Hub of Conshohocken’s Biking Community,” The Tricycle Cafe & Bicycle Shop is part retail cycle store, part bike repair center and part neighborhood café. A community vibe permeates this Black- and Latino-owned operation just off of the Schuylkill River Trail which not only offers a great selection of new and demo bikes and cycling gear (plus a professional service and repair shop for that needed tune-up) but is also perfect pit stop for coffee, teas, sandwiches and wraps, smoothies and freshmade pastries. Bonus: Bike rentals are available as well.

Whether out strolling Rittenhouse Square or around Reading Terminal Market, Sofia Deleon’s selection of Central American street food at El Merkury is always enticing. Featuring gift ideas including a wide variety of food stuffs (by the pound or quart) and eclectic crafts, Deleon’s goal is to bring community together through food. Hear more from Deleon in season 3, episode 8 of our Love + Grit podcast.

There’s no such thing as too hot for spicyphile fans of Kensington’s FAIYA hot sauce company. Founded by Radhi and Mónica Fernández as a pandemic project, FAIYA’s organic hot sauces can now be found at farmers markets throughout the region and in their online shop. The colorful line of small-batch sauces includes flavors like the mango, spiced whiskey and maple syrup Mama Juana; the blueberry jalapeño Purple Flame; and the mango habanero What the Fuego. Hear more from Fernandez on season 3, episode 19 of our Love + Grit podcast.

Whether you translate chupi as “little sweetie” or “awesome,” both terms describe Alexei Encarnación’s homemade helados (ice cream) and paletas (ice pops). But it wasn’t Alexei that came up with the idea; leave that to his then-nine-year-old daughter, who started making popsicles as a hobby. Today that hobby has blossomed into a business, with Helados Chupi Chupi selling its all-natural artisanal frozen treats — featuring bright flavors like pineapple, piña colada, mango, coconut, passion fruit and more — at retail outlets across the region, including Juniata Supermarket in Feltonville, 7 Brothers Supermarket in Olney and J&J Supermarket in South Philly. Got a private party to cater? Hire the mobile ice cream bicycle or popsicles car.

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, Columbia, 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.

Seeing coffee as a mission, founder Gabriel Boscana of Máquina Coffee Roasters has serious chops as a former roasting manager for Intelligentsia Coffee. His online shop (located in Coatesville with plans for a service window in the near future) offers coffee subscriptions for a slew of blends (ethically sourced from places like El Salvador, Kenya, Colombia and Honduras) then roasted locally with care. Shop-branded gifts including T-shirts and artist collab gear are also available, with proceeds from the business — also LGBT Business Enterprise certified — supporting non-profits like Planned Parenthood, the NAACP and the ACLU.

Branding their Fishtown operation as “Philly’s Neighborhood Winery,” personal and business partners Nicholas Ducos and Francesca Galarus founded Mural City Cellars with a goal of making wine more affordable, accessible and local using grapes from small regional farms and minimal intervention. Ducos’ sommelier skills and Galarus’ eye for arts and community helped Mural City — the city’s first independent urban winery — bloom into a welcoming destination for “uncomplicated, un-stuffy, un-manipulated” wine and chill vibes, influenced by the city’s beloved local brewery scene. Hear more on season 2, episode 18 of our Love + Grit podcast.

Growing up underprivileged in North Philly, Philly Pop Up Picnics founder Christina Figueroa reveled in memories of her family packing up the station wagon with a cooler and a blanket to head off for a picnic. That’s the feeling Figueroa wants to impart to others with her Latina- and LGBTQ-owned company, providing a turnkey picnic experience in any location with packages from couples to large groups (even proposals) with accouterments like high-quality décor, cushioned seating, flowers and dinnerware, plus add-ons like charcuterie boards, a donut stand or a professional photographer.

Kensington’s Strivers’ Row Whiskey is finding its spot in history, as the only Latino-owned whiskey company in the Northeast and one of the smallest commercial distilleries in the country. Founder Francisco Garcia was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Harlem’s infamous Strivers’ Row, with his story resonating within the spirits community as he broke new ground as a pioneering Latino distiller. His “grain-to-glass” single-malt whiskey and barrel-aged rum can be ordered online and picked up in-person. Learn more about Garcia on season 2, episode 16 of our Love + Grit podcast.

From Nicole Marquis’ hip vegan bar-restaurant Charlie was a sinner. to James Beard Award winner Cristina Martinez’s South Philly Barbacoa to Jezabel Careaga’s eponymous Argentinian bakery, there are scores of incredible spots in Philly for dinner, drink and dessert. For more, check out Visit Philly’s roundup of over 30 of the best Latino-owned Philly eateries.