La Tienda: More than just another shop for local Latinos

Not far from Virginia Beach's bustling Town Center, in the suburban sprawl between the oceanfront and downtown Norfolk, Hampton Roads Hispanics find a taste of home -- literally.

While loading an already full cart with yautia, Ada Whitney said she has been coming to La Tienda in the Thalia Village Shoppes for more than 20 years. She initially heard about the store from a fellow Puerto Rican friend. "I come here to buy things I can't get anywhere else," she said.

Originally opened by a Portuguese gentleman in 1986, the store at the intersection of Bonney Road and Boggs Avenue was owned by Dominicans Nelly and Marcelo Pina for 20 years. Alex Nova, whose Alex Nova Real Estate Team is also headquartered in Thalia Village, purchased La Tienda in October 2007.

Nova, of Dominican heritage as well, discovered La Tienda after moving to Hampton Roads from Boston six years ago. Culturally, Nova said the concept of the tienda is to Hispanic Americans what the barbershop is to African Americans.

"I would go there two or three times a week to talk to people," he said. "I talked politics and socialized. Then, when I got into real estate, La Tienda became a place to put my business cards."

In spending time at La Tienda, Nova noticed a number of loyal costumers who "felt the same thing I felt." He observed sailors coming back into Norfolk off of ships from overseas grabbing a Malta Goya beverage for the first time in months, or years, and relieved to find that the store was still there.

La Tienda retains the traditional feel of a bodega, and the shelves are always filled with reasonably priced goods thanks to regular shipments from New York and Miami.

Although the owners have been Dominican for most of its history, La Tienda carries products from many Latin American countries, stocking merchandise based on what customers are buying.

"We look at the demographics coming into the store," Nova said. He has observed the number of Peruvians and Hondurans increasing of late, and says there are fewer Mexicans.

Nova has Americanized the store's methods. All the products are now scanned, rather than tagged.

La Tienda's busiest season is not surprisingly around Christmas. Nova said customers particularly seek plantain leaves during the holidays, and that these are made available by Goya Foods. The largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, Goya Foods makes weekly shipments to La Tienda.

Nova estimates that 100 Latinos make a purchase on any given day.

That La Tienda is a gathering point for Hispanics is demonstrated by the surrounding Spanish-speaking businesses that have cropped up in Thalia Village. In addition to his real estate office, Nova also owns the neighboring Belky's Salon, one of a number of Dominican salons that have recently opened their doors throughout the area. Mi Tierra restaurant, on the opposite corner of the shopping center, is open for lunch and dinner and Mi Orgullo Latin Accessories is nestled between the real estate office and the salon.

Nova is conscious of the changes that have occurred in the region's Hispanic population since his arrival.

"There were very few Latinos in the area," he said. "The population increase has happened within the last five years and the Latino population has tripled in that time."

"La Tienda has some competition now," Nova acknowledged, "but it is still considered the original."

La Tienda has observed the development of Hampton Road's Hispanic community for more than 20 years. As local Latinos continue to carve out their futures, La Tienda promises to remain a cultural oasis, as well as a place to pick up some plantains.

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