A taste of the Caribbean: Supermarket specializing in island flavors opens
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 17, 2017 3:05 AM
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News-Argus/ROCHELLE MOORE
Benita Tambel, owner of the Caribbean Supermarket on East Ash Street, left, and customer Michael Thevenin, with popular store products, including hot pepper sauce, Jamaican style jerk marinade and Casabe cassava bread.
A new Caribbean Supermarket is now open on East Ash Street in Goldsboro.
Owner Benita Tambel decided to open the store after seeing an unmet need in the community. The store offers a variety of foods that are more common in such places as Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Peru, Cuba, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.
"When I came to Goldsboro, I saw there was no Caribbean stores," Tambel said. "That was my first plan to open a small store."
The store regularly stocks Alberto brand items, common in Mexico, including rice, flour, corn meal and canned sardines, tuna and mackerel.
"Most of the items we have are Alberto," Tambel said.
The store has some American-made household items but is primarily stocked with items that appeal to people interested in Caribbean-style foods.
The supermarket has a variety of spices and condiments, including Jamaican-style barbecue sauce and Jamaican-style jerk marinade. The sauces are used to make jerk chicken or used with pork and goat, Tambel said.
There are a variety of soups and canned vegetables, including green pigeon peas from Peru, and a section of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as plantain and manioc.
There is a section of cold drinks, with Couronne fruit champagne, a popular drink in such places as Haiti. The store also has a frozen meat area, with chicken, fish and shrimp, and a frozen fruit area, with items including papaya, vegetables and tangerines.
In the near future, additional meats will be added, including ox tail, pork and goat, Tambel said.
The Caribbean Supermarket is located at 2205 E. Ash St., in the shopping center across from Stoney Creek Park. The store is open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.