New York City is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, and that diversity is reflected in its vibrant NYC Afro Latino-owned businesses & communities.
With Hispanic Heritage Month running from September 15 through October 15, it’s a great time to celebrate the history, culture, food, art, and businesses that make these communities so vibrant. But Afro-Latino culture isn’t something that should only be celebrated for one month.
Afro-Latino refers to people of Latin American or Caribbean heritage who also have African ancestry and identify with their Black and Latino roots. That intersection can be seen throughout New York City, from Dominican and Puerto Rican communities in the Bronx to Panamanian, Haitian, Cuban, and other Caribbean influences across the five boroughs.
So if you’re looking for ways to support Afro-Latino businesses in NYC, I’ve put together a list of spots to add to your radar. From cafés and restaurants to bookstores, cultural institutions, travel experiences, and community events, these are places where you can eat, shop, explore, learn, and connect.
And while Hispanic Heritage Month may be the reason you discovered them, you don’t need a heritage month to keep supporting them.
DISCLAIMER: The official celebration is National Hispanic Heritage Month, observed from September 15 to October 15. It’s a time to celebrate the heritage, history, traditions, and cultural diversity of Hispanic Americans whose roots trace back to Spain and 19 countries and territories across Latin America and the Caribbean. Latino heritage, on the other hand, encompasses people from Latin America. While most overlap with Hispanic countries, it also includes countries like Brazil and Haiti. Brazil & Haiti aren’t considered Hispanic because they do not speak Spanish. That is why they are not featured on this list.
An intersectional feminist bookstore and coffee shop centered on books, community, and creating a space where women, girls, and nonbinary people feel affirmed and celebrated.
Ethnic background: Panamanian
A Flatbush café bringing together Dominican and Haitian traditions through coffee and food. Its owners intentionally celebrate the traditions that connect their two island heritages.
Ethnic background: Dominican + Haitian
This Brooklyn spot puts a Jamaican twist on Cuban comfort food, serving classics like Cubanos, ropa vieja, empanadas, and its popular Cuban-Jamaican oxtail sandwich. It’s a flavorful example of how Caribbean cultures come together in NYC.
Ethnic background: Cuban + Jamaican
I’d keep this one focused on what you experienced there, especially if you have a particular dish or specialty you want to highlight.
Ethnic background: Panamanian
A Bed-Stuy taco spot with a twist, combining Mexican flavors with a distinct Panamanian influence. It’s a casual neighborhood stop for tacos, bowls, and other flavorful bites.
Ethnic background: Panamanian while fusing Mexican
Dominican-Texas barbecue that brings together Central Texas smoking techniques with Dominican flavors and sides. It’s a great example of how diaspora influences can create something uniquely New York.
Ethnic background: Dominican
Owners of each of the Brooklyn Afro Latino-Owned businesses in order of how they appear in this article
The Lit. Bar is an independent bookstore and wine bar in the South Bronx that celebrates diverse voices and creates space for literature, community, and conversation. It’s especially known for highlighting Black, Latinx, and Bronx-connected authors. It is the only independent bookstore serving the Bronx.
Ethnic background: Puerto Rican
Looking for a creative experience in NYC? Fairy Squad Mother NYC hosts hands-on crafting workshops around the city, including her famous Chunky Mandu Bag, a bold, velvet dumpling-shaped bag made entirely by hand. No crochet hooks or needles are needed, making it a fun experience whether you’re a seasoned crafter or a complete beginner.
Ethnic background: Cuban & Trinidadian
If you’re looking for brunch with a side of hip-hop, Beatstro is the spot. This Bronx restaurant is known for its lively weekend brunch, comfort-food favorites like chicken and waffles and shrimp & grits, and an atmosphere filled with DJs, hip-hop, and Bronx culture.
Ethnic background: Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan
A Hunts Point café where coffee, food, hip-hop, art, and community come together. Its Bronx identity is just as much a part of the experience as what’s in your cup.
Ethnic background: African American, Honduras, and Garifuna
A proud Afro-Latino-owned specialty coffee company connecting the Bronx with coffee-growing communities in the Dominican Republic. Its mission centers on coffee, community, culture, and creating greater equity in the coffee industry.
Ethnic background: Dominican
Casa Amadeo, formerly Casa Hernández, is the oldest continuously operating music store and the first-ever Puerto Rican music shop in New York City, dating back to 1941. It is now owned by Puerto Rican musician Miguel Ángel “Mike” Amadeo, who took it over in 1969 and is now in his 90s. More than just a music store, Casa Amadeo is a treasure trove of Latin music history, preserving a piece of New York City’s rich Puerto Rican and Latin music legacy.
Ethnic background: Puerto Rican
Owners of each of the Bronx Afro Latino-Owned businesses in order of how they appear in this article
NYC’s first Black Latina-owned movie theater, founded by Emelyn Stuart to create more opportunities and visibility for Black and Latino independent filmmakers. Now in Long Island City, the cinema combines films, food, and community programming.
Ethnic background: Dominican
A legendary Lower East Side cultural institution founded in the 1970s that has helped amplify Puerto Rican and Nuyorican poetry, theater, music, hip-hop, and visual art. While its historic building is undergoing renovation, its programming continues at venues around NYC.
Ethnic background: Puerto Rican / Nuyorican
An Inwood & Yonkers ice cream shop known for small-batch flavors inspired by Dominican, Caribbean, and broader Latin American flavors. It’s a sweet way to experience culture through food.
Ethnic background: Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Black
Located beneath the Metro-North Railroad viaduct between 111th and 116th Streets on Park Avenue, La Marqueta is a historic marketplace in East Harlem. Rooted in El Barrio’s Puerto Rican and Latin American heritage, it offers a connection to the neighborhood’s vibrant cultural history and community traditions. Add it to your NYC itinerary to explore a landmark that reflects East Harlem’s cultural legacy. Today, it serves as a market for many Latinx businesses.
See the world through an Afro-Latine lens with DiasporDash, which offers Afro-Latine tours across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as periodic walking tours in NYC. From exploring Black history and culture in Harlem to traveling through destinations like Brazil, Cuba, and Panama, these experiences highlight the people, places, and stories that make the African diaspora across the Americas so rich and diverse.
Ethnic background: Panamanian
Celebrating Hispanic heritage also means making space for Afro-Hispanic and Afro-Latino voices, cultures, histories, and businesses, which are too often overlooked or erased from the larger narrative.
And this is bigger than Hispanic Heritage Month.
When you support Afro-Latino businesses, you’re also supporting Black. You’re helping amplify the diversity within the Black community and recognizing the many ways Blackness and Latinidad intersect.
So while Hispanic Heritage Month may have introduced you to some of these businesses, let’s not let October 15 be the end of the support.
Let’s make discovering, supporting, and celebrating Afro-Latino businesses a habit all year long, not just a one-month trend.
Because representation matters. Visibility matters. And where we choose to spend our dollars matters, too.
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Welcome to the Franny the Traveler blog! I’m Dr. Franny, a national award-winning educator, entrepreneur, author, and Black travel enthusiast on a personal mission to make every destination a Black-owned destination. As I visit all 50 states and 50 countries by age 50, this Black travel blog is a growing collection of Black-owned city guides, itineraries, travel tips, and reflections on traveling while Black for the conscious traveler. I’m so happy you’re here!
