CentroVilla25 celebrates its one-year anniversary

PHOTO BY DEBBIE SADLON

Friday, February 13, 2026; CentroVilla25, 3140 W. 25th Street: CentroVilla25, Cleveland’s Latino community hub, market, and food hall, will host a 1st anniversary celebration on March 7th, 2026.

PHOTO BY DEBBIE SADLONFriday, February 13, 2026; CentroVilla25, 3140 W. 25th Street: La Esquina Dominicana’s owner Aneudy Rijo and Elizabeth Valdez stand ready to serve delicious Dominican food to those visiting CentroVilla25.

PHOTO BY DEBBIE SADLON

Friday, February 13, 2026; CentroVilla25, 3140 W. 25th Street: Food Services Manager Karl Primous runs the CentroVilla25 Commercial Kitchen. The Commercial Kitchen is available for rent by the hour to any food service business. Primous also is available to advise food service entrepreneurs on obtaining various business licenses, insurance, and food safety certification.

PHOTO BY DEBBIE SADLON

Friday, February 13, 2026; CentroVilla25, 3140 W. 25th Street: Dino Tovanche of Café Roig offers customers a variety of choices including Puerto Rican coffee, specialty sips, and sandwiches.

PHOTO BY DEBBIE SADLON

Friday, February 13, 2026; CentroVilla25, 3140 W. 25th Street: Estefany Salomon and Ana Morales serve up Cuban food at Sazõn Latino. The stand is owned by Danielly Chávez.

by Chuck Hoven

   (Plain Press March 2026) Since it first opened a year ago, CentroVilla25 has served as a community gathering place for Cleveland’s Latino Community, a place to dine and shop, and a place where new entrepreneurs find affordable space to rent with technical assistance and resources to help their business succeed. CentroVilla25 also provides rental event space, and an office space for the staff of Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development.

   Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development (NEOHCED), which also does business as (dba) the Hispanic Business Center, owns the building at 3140 W. 25th which houses CentroVilla25. A decade of planning and securing resources by NEOHCED and its partners resulted in the adaptive reuse of the 32,500 square foot warehouse and office building and creation of an additional 12,500 square foot expansion. CentroVilla25 also has outdoor event space as well as three parking lots for visitors.

   Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development President and Chief Executive Officer Jenice Contreras says CentroVilla25 has been well received by the community. She says CentroVilla25 is “creating an opportunity for entrepreneurs that want to start a business.” It provides the physical infrastructure they need to get started. NEOHCED set up CentroVilla25 as a nonprofit 501c3 organization that runs and owns CentroVilla25, Contreras noted.

   Contreras says she is proud of the space and describes how it offers space for a variety of community events. She notes recent use for a wedding party on Valentine’s Day and over 500 people in attendance for a Super Bowl party featuring Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny as the half time performer.

   Contreras invites the wider community to come celebrate Latino culture. She says, “Come and feel like you are transported to Latin America.” She stressed the importance of the community showing its support “at a time when we are being persecuted by our own government.”

   CentroVilla25 Events Marketing Manager Ivelys Colón and Marketing Manager Roselyn Nuños described a recent event held at CentroVilla25 on February 13th called a Galentine Accessory Swap. They said about 20 to 30 women gathered to exchange accessories on the day before Valentine’s Day. Other activities at CentroVilla25 include zumba, yoga, and market activations. They said plans for this summer call for use of the outdoor plaza space to host 60 or 70 vendors for a co http://www.cv25.orgmmunity celebration.

   Colón and Nuños offered a list of seven food vendors that have signed three-year leases for kiosks in CentroVilla25, and six entrepreneurs that have rented retail kiosks.

   The food vendors offer a variety of Latin American cuisine: Tumbao58 (Venezelan), Flying Pig Taxos (Mexican), Antojitos Salvadorenos (Salvadorian), La Esquina Dominicana (Dominican Republic), Sazon Latino (Cuban), El Kiosquito Boricua (Puerto Rican), and Café Roig (Puerto Rican Coffee).

   The retail kiosks are: Mine Jewelry (hand crafted jewelry), Joel Rodriguez (Keller Williams Realtor), Tabako 1491 (Tabacco & Indigenous Shop), Vintage & Vaina (collectables and vintage), Alnairis’ Custom Design (custom printing), Cary’s 15 Boutique (custom dress design, cups, t-shirts, tumblers).

   One of the retail operators, Reinaldo DeJesus, owner of Vintage & Vaina, rents two kiosks. He offers space for local artists to sell items such as pop culture items made with 3-dimensional printers, and Puerto Rican and Caribbean cultural items, teas and handmade soaps.

   While all the food vendor spaces have been rented, four retail kiosks are still available at CentroVilla25. For more information about renting a space, call Randy Cedeña at the Hispanic Business Center at 216-281-4422.

   A modern commercial kitchen at CentroVilla25 is available for rent by the hour to food vendors in the building as well as being available to food entrepreneurs in the wider community. Food Service Manager Karl Primous runs the kitchen. He is also available to help food businesses to obtain any licenses, insurance or food safety certificates they need.

   NEOHCED Executive Assistant Noelitza Dunn, providing a tour CentroVilla25, introduced Plain Press staff to Luis Roman, who is working to open Hula Island Provisions, a grocery and food factory. Roman plans to offer Amish butter and cheeses, fresh salads, Caribbean marinates, infused oils and empanadas. Roman plans to have a Consumer Products Goods wall in the market where local community members can sell food products they make.

   Hula Island Provisions, which Roman hopes to be able to open later this year, will be the largest retail space in CentroVilla25. It will open into the rear parking lot on the West Side of the building.

   NEOHCED President and Chief Executive Officer Jenice Contreras says a long-term goal involves creating a master plan that involves expanding to multiple buildings in the neighborhood and providing a huge economic benefit to the area.

   As CentroVilla25 continues to grow, expand, and offer more events and opportunities to the community, it seeks both volunteers and donors.

   On March 7th, CentroVilla25 will host a 1st Year Anniversary Bash. Details about the fundraiser can be found under Events on the CentroVilla25 website at www.cv25.org.

   Information about NEOHCED and CentroVilla25 is also available on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. NEOHCED can also be reached by phone at 216-281-4422. Or you can visit in person. CentroVilla25 is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.

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