CLEVELAND — For years, we've been telling you about the plans for a community hub designed to uplift the Hispanic community in the heart of Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood. Friday, CentroVilla25 finally opened its doors.
RELATED: CentroVilla25 finally opens with soft launch
As lines grew for a taste of her Dominican cuisine, Elizabeth Valdez of La Esquina Dominicana expressed her gratitude for what CentroVilla25 has made possible.
“I moved from Orlando just because of this place,” Valdez continued, “It’s like an opportunity for the Latin people, for people like me, like my cousin, that we might have a talent, but we don't have the means to jump into a business.”
That’s exactly why Jenice Contreras, President and CEO of the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development, pushed to create CentroVilla25.
“It's given our community a place that they could really ground themselves as a Latino hub for everything community,” said Conteras.
For more than a decade, Centro Villa was just a dream—an empty warehouse and blueprints. After a soft opening at the end of last year, they finally cut the red ribbon Friday, officially marking their grand opening.
RELATED: CentroVilla25 could open as soon as this fall
People gathered inside the new 32,000-square-foot Hispanic hub to celebrate with music, shopping, and food from vendors across Latin America.
Inside the colorful building on West 25th Street, you’ll find offices, community spaces, a commercial kitchen, a market, a food hall and more than a dozen small businesses—many of which got their start through CentroVilla’s training programs in partnership with the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development.
“Because we've been forgotten for quite some time, and so we need to create opportunities. CentroVilla is all about creating opportunities so that people can be empowered economically, so that people can put food on the table, so that it can better their circumstances for their family if they want to retire,” said Randy Cedeno, the Director of a small business development.
Elected officials, donors, organizational leaders, and community members all came together to celebrate this major milestone—a powerful reminder that the Latin community belongs and will always have a space to call its own.
“Northeast Ohio is a diverse place, and we welcome and celebrate diversity and immigrants and folks, no matter where they came from,” said Conteras.
CentroVilla25 is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.
