Authentic Latin Cuisine ~ Meat Market ~ Pastries ~ & MORE!
Our Story
Owner's Memoir
Carolina was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala. For the first 20 years of her life, she was surrounded by the culture and traditions of her family and ancestors. She would be in an abundance of hot meals like homemade hilachas, jocon, pepian, and of course, handmade tortillas. Carolina has been in Atascadero for half her life and since she set foot here, she has dreamt of bringing her mayan culture to the Central Coast. Her children were born and raised here and studied locally, and were then passed down the traditions and culture of Carolina. About 10 years ago, Carolina married Gabriel who is from Chiapas, Mexico. Since Chiapas is on the border to Guatemala, the two shared many cultural similarities but they also combined their cultural differences. Gabriel owned a market in Chiapas and has dreamt of opening an authentic mexican market since his time here in the Central Coast. With the fusions of their two dreams, Azteca Market was born.
A fusion of two people, two countries, & two cultures!
The Birth of Azteca Market
With the dream of opening a representation of the fusion of Carolina and Gabriel's cultures, the couple began to save up and work hard. Opportunity struck in the form of only four walls in February of 2021. Carolina and Gabriel worked hard for more than two years to build Azteca Market completely from scratch. It was an extremely difficult two years for the family but the motivation was always to keep their dream alive. Azteca Market's logo is of a Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala where Carolina is from. The name "Azteca" (Aztec in Spanish) is a representation of Mexican culture, where Gabriel is from. The fusion of the logo of the Quetzal and the name "Azteca" is the perfect blend of Guatemala/Mayan culture and Mexican/Aztec culture. It is important to the couple that authentic representation of latin culture be reflected on the shelves of the market as well as in the kitchen! Due to their experience of being in the Central Coast for so many years, Carolina and Gabriel knew they wanted to make real authentic latin cuisine. They wanted their food to consist of rich flavors and vibrant colors and bring something unique to the Central Coast. The couple wants to create all of their family and ancestral recipes from scratch (no cans!).
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We welcome you to Azteca Market and we hope you enjoy eating the foods once made only for Mayan Kings and Queens!