According to the database Infoshare Online, the most recent census from 2010 stated that the total population for Tompkinsville was 13,764 people. Of this population, roughly about 3,000 people are of Hispanic origin. The largest groups of Hispanic people have immigrated from Puerto Rico and Mexico, however some of the other places they have come from is from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Ecuador. While walking around Tompkinsville on Staten Island, my group and I noticed that of the Hispanic population, the Mexican origin seemed to be the most dominant of that area. Many of the Hispanic stores had awnings which displayed the colors of the Mexican flag and inside many had products imported from Mexico.
The Mexican population has a variety of dishes that are popular within their culture that they have introduced to the United States. Many of these dishes are found at restaurants and grocery stores in Tompkinsville. The lower side of Victory Boulevard near Bay Street has many Mexican stores and fast food restaurants that serve authentic tortillas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, huaraches, quesadillas, and desserts. People from Mexico eat foods with lots of spices, for example jalapeños and “mole” which is a sauce made of chocolate and crushed peppers. Instead of eating bread they eat tortillas made of corn or flour and they prepare foods with different kinds of meats such as chicken, steak, pork, goat, and some fish.
One of the locations that caught most of our interest was Atlixco, a bakery, deli, grocery store, and a sit down fast food
Front of Atlixco
restaurant all in one located at Victory Boulevard and Van Duzer. The awning of this place is a dark green with a picture of an extravagant tiered cake to the left, the name of the store: Atlixco in red, and words in Spanish telling customers what kinds of products they can find. From the awning, we see that there is merchandise sold from Mexico and from reading the signs on the windows, we can observe that they are mostly printed in Spanish. Inside, there are many pictures on the walls of people and locations in Mexico as well as signs printed in Spanish writing.
Pastries in Atlixco
At the far back, there are Mexican pastries such as Pastel de Arroz (rice pastries) and Pastel de Gelatina (jelly pastries), Mexican bread, and various types of cookies and desserts. There are also metal racks that make three small isles, all containing various products that are imported from Mexico. One of the brands Bimbo is well known in many Hispanic countries in South America. There are also chips, cookies, and tortillas imported from Mexico. This is one of the various Mexican/Hispanic stores you can come across while walking through the neighborhood of Tompkinsville on Staten Island.
