Saturday, August 18, 2007

Alimentos Mexicanos en Dayton

According to the 2000 census the Asians were the #3 "racial" category in the Dayton area, after whites and blacks. I think this is going to change in 2010, just by looking at the number of new Mexican/Latino markets in the area that have sprung up in the past 10 years. There were none that I knew of in 1990.

Most of these are little tiendas, some in the city, others in the suburbs, but I did discover one today that is less a corner stores or mini-mart and more a small supermarket:
La Michoacana is named after the Mexican state, and according to the sign is #5. I don't know where the other four are. This place is pretty impressive. They have a small in-store taqueria, some limited clothing & DVD sales, but the main event is the selection. There is a respecable produce section, including bins of dried chiles. There is a meat department with butchers on staff , who apparently make their own chorizo, cut their own menudo and other meat cuts, as well having chicarones and carnitas for sale. There is good selection of canned and boxed foods too.
The store is on Troy Street in Old North Dayton. This neighborhood does not have a reputaton for having a Mexican or Latino settlement. So far the Mexicans are settling all over the area: East Dayton, Fairborn, Riverside, cheap apartment complexes all over town, but not in large enough numbers or concentrations to create a true barrio like one sees up in citys further north in the Midwest.

Given the tough economic times in the area one wonders if this immigration is going to continue?

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