Thread: RAEFORD, N.C. Fiesta plaza open for business

http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines ... 22&SecID=2

Hispanic plaza open for business
Updated: 7/9/2006 3:31:44 PM
By: Ilin Chen


Fiesta Plaza
RAEFORD, N.C. -- The Hispanic population not only has a huge impact on North Carolina’s economy, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses has also grown. Now, a city in the Sandhills has a new shopping center that caters to its Spanish-speaking population.

Processing plant worker Pascuala Aguilar spends most of her days working, so she likes that the city of Raeford now has a one-stop shop for her to run errands.

"I like it because I can come here and wash my clothes, visit the clothing store, the bakery, and everything is close together," said Aguilar, who usually comes on the weekends.

Fiesta Plaza was built to provide convenience for the Hispanic population, and although business hasn't been booming since it opened in April, it's starting to trickle in.

"It took a little while for the word to get out,” said plaza owner Steven Calvert. “It took longer than I thought, but we're known now, so people are starting to come here."

Hispanics spend money at more than just places that cater to the population. Studies have shown that they pump billions of dollars into North Carolina's economy each year, and that's a figure that's expected to double in the near future as the state's population continues to be among the fastest growing in the nation.

A store in Fiesta Plaza
But with Fiesta Plaza, the opposite is also happening. The bakery, for example, sees a lot of Americans come in because they are curious about the products.

"They like new stuff,” said bakery owner Miguel Vasquez. “They've never seen this before, and they say, 'OK, we'll have to try it,' and they try it and then come back, so it's good for us."

Vasquez’s main customer base is still the Spanish-speaking population, which includes Aguilar, who doesn't mind spending her weekends at the plaza.

"I see friends from work, and every now and then, I see someone from my country,” she added. “It's nice being around people who are familiar to me."

Fiesta Plaza is located on Harris Avenue, which is west of Main Street in Raeford. Businesses operating in the center include a clothing store, a bakery, and a laundromat.

Calvert says more businesses, like a national pizza chain, are also getting ready to move in soon.

Do you just get the feeling that we're just plain not wanted around anymore? Isn't this just total discrimination? See any real attempts at assimilation or a great big concrete money line drawn to make sure there's a division? Then again......maybe I'm just TOO SENSITIVE on this issue of being banned in my own country. Think it will open the door for some employment oppertunities for non-latino people? I'd like to see how diverse they are.

Think it will open the door for some employment oppertunities for non-latino people? I'd like to see how diverse they are.

Every US citizen in the area should apply when the national pizza chain opens!

Spanish helpful.