Guatemalan bakery, Totopan Bakery and Pastry Shop, located on Fifth Avenue between 45th and 46th streets. (Credit: Aurora Martínez)
Along Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the smells of tacos and fried rice mix with those of Guatemalan tamales and pepián stew. The commercial area, dominated by Mexican and Chinese businesses, is now infused with the flavors of a growing Guatemalan community that is transforming the neighborhood one storefront at a time.
To serve this growing population, Juan Chuc and his brothers, Miguel and Rafael, opened a second Totopan Bakery on Fifth Avenue. Miguel opened the first store on 20th Avenue in Bensonhurst four years ago, when many Guatemalans from Sunset Park had to make the 30-to-60-minute trip to shop. Now they don’t have to go that far.
“Instead of them going there, they stay here,” Juan Chuc said. “We’re going slowly but surely.”
Bakeries like theirs, as well as convenience stores, restaurants and delis have the vertical triband of white and sky blue of the Guatemalan flag hanging around. From 2018 to 2022, the neighborhood’s Guatemalan population nearly tripled, growing by 167%, according to U.S. Census data. The new storefronts are a direct response to the community’s growing appetite for familiar recipes and products.
Juan Chuc, 44, came from Totonicapán, a city in west-central Guatemala, in 1997 and never went back. He worked at Italian restaurants for 25 years until opening a second location for Totopan seemed viable. The bakery opened about a year ago and operates daily with a team of about 15 Guatemalans – cooks, bakers, cashiers and delivery people.
“Nothing good is ever built overnight,” Chuc said. “This is like a baby — it has to learn to walk alone.”
Guatemalans come to the United States with various goals, always carrying their traditions and customs “close to our heart,” said Dina Liquez, 59, a Guatemalan who has lived in Brooklyn for about 35 years and has witnessed how her community has grown throughout the years.
Liquez arrived undocumented 39 years ago, pregnant and with a 2-year-old son, she said. Now a permanent resident, she owns El Buen Chapin Deli, located on Fifth Avenue, which opened in December 2018.
The rise in the number of fellow Guatemalans became noticeable in 2018, Liquez said. That year, thousands of indigenous Guatemalans protested their government’s decision to shut down an international anti-corruption commission in the country. When she opened the deli, it was the first 100% Guatemalan business in the area. Now, at least seven Guatemalan flags fly on Fifth Avenue alone.
El Buen Chapin, whose name refers to a popular slang Guatemalans use to refer to themselves, offers a variety of Guatemalan products, from spices and Pollo Campero ketchup to pastries and regional snacks. It also sells over-the-counter medications popular among Guatemalans, like Viro-Grip and Tabcin, commonly used to treat cold symptoms. But the most sought-after items are the dishes made with authentic Guatemalan ingredients.
“Our food attracts our own people,” Liquez said. “It is not restaurant food, but rather home-cooked meals.”
While Liquez came to the U.S. from Guatemala City, she estimates 95% of her customers come from Sololá, a town in southwestern Guatemala. Their origin has altered some of her recipes. Instead of making pulique, a traditional Mayan stew typical in the highlands, with cilantro and vegetables like carrots, potatoes and green beans, the deli uses just meat, beef, chicken or pork, and with no cilantro — the way people eat it in Sololá.
“We always try to innovate,” she said.
Since the pandemic, poverty has increased significantly in Guatemala. In 2023, an estimated 55% of its 18 million people were living in poverty, according to UNICEF. Guatemalans see the U.S. as a place to work, earn money and send remittances back home, said Antonio Quisquina, 29, a Guatemalan who has worked alongside Liquez for nine years.
“Guatemalans support each other,” Quisquina said. “That allows us to be here, and we’ll continue being here.”
In 2023, remittances made up 19.5% of Guatemala’s gross domestic product, the equivalent of $19.8 billion, according to World Bank data. Guatemalan authorities estimate that by the end of 2024, remittances will surpass $20 billion, which would make it another record year.
“Guatemalans are hardworking, honest, focused and very grateful,” Liquez said.
The growing presence of Guatemalans in Sunset Park sends a signal that the neighborhood is alive and welcoming, said David Estrada, executive director of the Sunset Park Business Improvement District.
“Maybe in five years, there’ll be a Guatemalan Festival in the park,” he said. “I’m hoping that these folks thrive and have a great time.”
