CentroVilla25 is ready to officially open its doors this weekend in Cleveland's Clark-Fulton neighborhood.
The Latino market offers dishes and products from a dozen food and goods vendors, as well as a bar, outdoor plaza and commercial kitchen.
CentroVilla25 (the name means "center of the village" and nods to its location on West 25th Street) is a community hub that the neighborhood has long lacked, said Jenice Contreras, president of the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Business Center for Economic Development, which operates the market.
"Honestly, it feels like a reunion every time I walk through the market," she said. "Because I'm either seeing people that I grew up in the neighborhood with, or went to school with, or know from other organizations, so the support that we've gotten has been overwhelming to be able to come in and see my friends and my colleagues from years and years and years."
The Clark-Fulton neighborhood on Cleveland’s near West Side is home to the highest density of Latino residents in Ohio. For years, it's been considered a food desert, and about 40% of residents live below the poverty line, according to figures from the Center for Community Solutions.
Contreras said the project was intended to uplift minority business owners and drive economic development in the area.
In 2023, Cleveland City Council approved $1.5 million in spending to close the financing gap on the $10 million project to bring it across the finish line.
At that time, it was just a bare, gray-walled warehouse on West 25th Street, just a mile south of the West Side Market.
The market now activates a portion of that street, which on either side is bolstered by the retail and restaurant corridor in Ohio City to the north and Old Brooklyn to the south.
"We're already talking about other opportunities to really create a vibrant retail corridor, which is the whole intent of the center part of the West 25th corridor," Contreras said. "How do we continue to spur out what's happening in CentroVilla outside, so that we have a vibrant retail corridor across the whole 2.8 miles of West 25th?"
The brightly-painted facade mirrors the vibrancy inside, which is bustling with high-energy music, groups gathered in the dining hall space and the smell of empanadas sizzling in frying oil.
The market, which soft opened in January, is split into two sections: Mercado Rose — which offers products and services — and Mercado Verde, which boasts eight food stalls.
All business owners underwent business readiness training through the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development.
"This is truly a partnership," Contreras said. "It's not like we're the landlords and we're renting space. We're in this together. So their growth is the growth of the overall project."
That means all vendors, including Eli Valdez, who had never run a business before and was trained before she opened La Esquina Dominicana. She runs the food stall with her family.
"Dominican people are happy getting to experience the food we bring to offer here," Valdez said. "But also with other communities, other cultures. They are learning about Dominican food, and those that have tried before, they're also very happy."
She said she's grateful for the opportunity at CentroVilla25 and hopes to open a full restaurant within a few years.
The market will also host live events in the plaza, including food trucks and music, throughout the summer.
The grand opening festival will be May 30-31 from 1-10 p.m. at 3140 W. 25th St.
Regular hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
