A taste of Latin America in Uptown

Those in need of Hispanic flavors now have an option in town with the opening of La Cubanita 2. The Uptown storefront offers fresh, shelf-stable and frozen food items, including pastries, chorizo and ripe plantains and avocados.

Owner Gladis Aliaba said she was encouraged by shoppers at her Osceola store to open up a shop in Creston. The Creston location opened on March 9 at 122 N. Maple St. While Aliaba’s customer base is Latino, she said people of all cultures have been coming in.

“We get a lot of American visitors, and they always come and buy something. They spend a lot of time looking around, and their children are with them and they buy a candy or cookie too,” Aliaba said. In the afternoons, Cubans and Venezuelans almost always come by after they get off work. We’re doing well."

As her customer base grows, Aliaba said she plans to bring more products in.

“They’re asking me to put another refrigerator with meats,” Aliaba said. “We’ll also add Mexican yogurts and gradually expand the products. We’re going to try to put many more things out there.”

Along with cultural products, Aliaba will soon be offering shipping to Latin and South American countries.

“We’re doing shipments through our agency Latino Express. We ship to Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, all those countries,” Aliaba said. “We’re also going to open a money transfer service to Mexico. We’ve already submitted the application, we’re just waiting for the supervisor from Ria to come in the next few days to install everything we need.”

Exact details for shipping and money transfers can be found in store.

Whether experienced in Latino flavors or just getting started, Aliaba said there’s something for everyone.

“Americans take quite a lot of plantains because they know them from Mexico,” Aliaba said. “Mango juice, guava juice... what really impressed them is the Cuban avocado.”

La Cubanita 2 is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The original La Cubanita is located at 123 E. Jefferson St. in Osceola.

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Una tienda nueva abierta en Creston el nueve de marzo y ofrece comida latina y otros productos misceláneos. La dueña de La Cubanita 2, Gladis Aliaba, también tiene una tienda en Osceola. La Cubanita 2 se ubique en 122 N. Maple St. en Creston y esta abierta de lunes a sábado de 10 en la mañana a 6 en el noche y los domingos de 10 en la mañana de 5 en el noche.