Coconut juice is on sale, and half a wall is devoted to a display of piñatas, colored in pinks, blues and yellows.

This is what makes Bestway, the newly opened Latino supermarket off Adelphi Road in Hyattsville, different from other area grocery stores.

The store’s brightly painted green walls are adorned with colorful flags and signs written in both English and Spanish. A huge sign reads “leche” over the milk section, with the English translation written in smaller type in the bottom right corner. The same goes for “mariscos” (seafood) and “polleria” (poultry). The aisle directory signs are a mix of both languages; one advertises soda as well as “bebidas” and “agua.”

Manny Ruiz, president of the university’s Latino Student Union, has visited other local Bestway locations and said they are helpful for a growing Latino population.

“They offer a deeper assortment of products,” Ruiz said. “For example, where Giant or Shoppers might only have one or two options of tortillas, they have a large assortment.”

There are seven Bestway locations in the Washington metropolitan area, including two recently opened stores – “ahora abierto” – and three others on the way – “muy pronto,” according to the chain’s website. Store managers could not be reached for comment.

The new Adelphi location represents a changing trend in the demographic of the region.

“The Latino community is always expanding and growing outwards,” Ruiz said. “Not just here, but also in Montgomery County and Silver Spring, Latino communities are starting to pop up.”

The Latino population in Prince George’s County grew from 7.1 to 11.7 percent between 2000 and 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This growth added about 41,500 people to Prince George’s County in that six-year span.

Ruiz said the growing Latino population in this area may need a store like Bestway to buy fruits and vegetables that are not available at other stores. An example he gave was small, round, bright red, green and yellow fruits called jocotes, originally from El Salvador.

For those who can tell the difference between Cholula, El Yucateco and Tapatio brand names, there are six full shelves of hot sauce at Bestway. Other unique options include Nido, a specific kind of milk not available at other area grocery stores, said shopper Meybel Ruiz, a native of El Salvador now living in College Park.

“It’s a lot cheaper, too,” she said.

Next to the box of Pillsbury Moist Supreme yellow cake mix, boxes of Tres Estrellas churros mix are sold. Both boxes cost $2.19, so shoppers can pick whether they want to bake the traditional American cake or a classic Latino pastry without cost or convenience being an issue.

In addition to offering a more extensive variety of Latino products, Bestway sells products found in every grocery store, such as Hunts tomato sauce, Chef Boyardee and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

But most importantly, Bestway’s selection offers a taste of home, Meybel Ruiz said.

“Here, they sell a certain kind of chocolate that we melt and mix with bananas in my country,” she said. “They don’t have it at Shoppers.”

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