Colombia Market | 135 Washington St. | Central Falls, RI 02863
In 1977, The Providence Journal described Colombia Market in Central Falls as a “true port of entry” for many Spanish-speaking immigrants arriving in Rhode Island. The small market, located on 135 Cowden Street (the corner of Washington and Cowden Streets), was owned by Elio F. Lozano, who had come to Central Falls from Barranquilla, Colombia in 1970.The market remained in that location and changes ownership, until it closed in the 1990s.
Lozano bought the market in 1974 using money from the sale of his mother’s house in Colombia, a Small Business Administration loan, and savings from his work as a factory worker in Central Falls. By 1977, the business was run by the Lozano family, all ten of whom lived above the store.
The market attracted customers from as far away as Boston and New Bedford. They came for foods that reminded them of home, including yuca, papayas, plantains, ahuyama, and pana. Every Tuesday afternoon, the Lozano family returned from New York with two vans full of foods and newspapers from several Latin American countries.
Colombia Market was more than a place to buy groceries, it became a gathering place for the growing Hispanic community in Central Falls. Teenagers spent time outside, notices in Spanish covered the windows, and newly arrived immigrants often found help, information, and familiar language there. Lozano also extended credit to families who needed food before payday, explaining through his son that he understood what immigrants were going through.
The market attracted customers from as far away as Boston and New Bedford. They came for foods that reminded them of home, including yuca, papayas, plantains, ahuyama, and pana. Every Tuesday afternoon, the Lozano family returned from New York with two vans full of foods and newspapers from several Latin American countries.
Colombia Market was more than a place to buy groceries, it became a gathering place for the growing Hispanic community in Central Falls. Teenagers spent time outside, notices in Spanish covered the windows, and newly arrived immigrants often found help, information, and familiar language there. Lozano also extended credit to families who needed food before payday, explaining through his son that he understood what immigrants were going through.
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Photo taken by Marta V. Martínez | 2017
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