Stores have long dominated the landscape
Peralta is a native of El Salvador and is the market’s main cook, known for her Mexican plate lunches.
While the line up varies slightly from day to day, La Morienta’s lunch options typically include shredded beef and shredded chicken tacos, birria, pork belly, rellenos, goya, porkbutt steaks, tamales and plantains.
The market’s groceries are plentiful and range from fresh-cut cactus to fresh-baked pan dulce. La Morienta also carries typical processed foods, but with Spanish labels instead of English ones.
Juan Busdos, a Lafayette resident who is originally from Mexico, relies on the market to run his restaurant, Taqueria El Patron, which he opened two months ago on North University Avenue.
A market like this one, which opened in 2010, wasn’t always available in Lafayette, a place where Cajun and Creole restaurants and grocery stores have long dominated the landscape.
But like the rest of the country, Acadiana’s population is becoming more ethnically and racially diverse. Foods such as sushi that were once foreign to Acadiana have become commonplace.
Only a few decades ago, Acadiana’s restaurant options were overwhelmingly Cajun, Creole or Southern.