(From left) Latino Farmers Market manager Deborah Powlini and founder America DeLoach
This year, America DeLoach, founder of Richmond-based business Salsas Don Sebastian, was preparing to take a step back from her company after partnering with a co-packer. In business for nearly a decade and with her products in 140 stores, the entrepreneur, originally from Venezuela, was looking to spend more time with family.
But when she heard other local Latino entrepreneurs were struggling to break into area farmers markets, she took the helm of another project. “I said, ‘We’re going to create our own Latino market,’” DeLoach recalls.
Months prior, Chesterfield County Administrator Joseph P. Casey and Clover Hill District Supervisor Jessica Schneider had visited DeLoach’s production space. When they left, they gave her their business cards, and when she began hatching a plan for the market, DeLoach knew exactly whom to contact.
“When I met with her, she told me of her vision of a Latino farmers market, to feature the products and flavors of the diverse Latino and Hispanic communities of Chesterfield and the region. ... All she needed was a location,” Schneider says. “I was 100% on board, especially given that she was so passionate about it, and she totally lit up as she told me about it. ... Her vibrant enthusiasm is infectious.”
The Latino Farmers Market debuted on April 6 at Rockwood Park, 3401 Courthouse Road in North Chesterfield. Founded on the mission of presenting a space for the Latin community to vend, shop and flourish, the market runs from 8 a.m. to noon (extended to 1 p.m. for the summer) on Saturdays through Nov. 2.
Initial vendors include Barham Seafood, family-owned Empanadas Market, food trucks Happy Arepas and Latin Quarter, beverage business Loquito Coquito, dessert shop Los Dulces de Tia Maria, Taqueria El Gordito’s, Tizana and produce purveyors Penn Farm/Nora’s Produce and Walnut Hill Farm.
Assisting DeLoach in the process is Market Manager Deborah Powlini, also a native of Venezuela.
“Our goal is to help our community. Our goal is to help our people, no matter what,” DeLoach says. “It’s fair, and we give opportunities. I think the market is going to keep growing; every day we get more people that want to sign up.”
A cultural performance during the Latino Farmers Market
The market can accommodate 75 vendors, and over half of the slots are currently filled. It is not exclusive to Latino businesses, DeLoach adds, but about 60% of current vendors at the market are Latino-owned. She says her goal is to host cooking demos, live music or experience-based entertainment each weekend.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Chesterfield has the largest Latino/Hispanic population in the Richmond region, at 11.4%. “Over there from Hull Street to the left side, it’s Latino,” DeLoach says.
“Mainly, my vision is to help our Latino entrepreneurs who are under the rocks, sometimes scared or uninformed, or they don’t know how to vend because they don’t know the process, but they have amazing products or amazing food,” she says. “Sometimes it is so easy, but in their head it’s like, ‘No, I would never be able to, forget it.’”
DeLoach understands that uncertainty and the hustle it takes to overcome it. She moved to the Richmond region almost two decades ago, teaching Spanish for nearly 15 years at elementary schools including Fox and Broad Rock. Outside the classroom, she experimented with making salsas at home, using a century-old recipe from her husband’s grandmother. The positive feedback she received in response to the jars of homemade salsa she gifted to friends encouraged DeLoach to found Salsas Don Sebastian.
Our goal is to help our community. Our goal is to help our people, no matter what.
—America DeLoach
In 2016, DeLoach committed herself fully to the business, securing a facility where she employs a core team of women. She has since expanded her lineup to include a creamy, zippy jalapeno dip; pickled onions; pico de gallo; and frozen items such as pinto beans and tamales. She also distributes salsa by the gallon to Virginia universities including William & Mary, James Madison, and the University of Virginia.
DeLoach’s success has unlocked a desire to push others to tap into their potential. Having lived through the small-business journey as an immigrant, she feels she has something to offer and that it is her calling. “Just go ahead and jump and do it, and you’ll see how your fearless ancestors come from nowhere and say, ‘This is what you need to do, figure this out,’” she says.
She hopes that sentiment will inspire her fellow entrepreneurs at the Latino Farmers Market. “This is going to be a hub of food and fun,” DeLoach says. “We are now focused on expanding our vendor list and reaching deeper into our Latino community. It’s our way of creating a welcoming space where everyone can thrive without fear of discrimination.”
