Business owners and local leaders celebrated at Springfield's Eastfield Mall, which is home to 22 Latino-owned businesses, as 16 of which opened their doors within the last six months.

Tuesday, Andrew Melendez, Director of the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce, along with Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, hosted an event at the mall honoring the nearly two dozen businesses.

Representatives Orlando Ramos and Carlos Gonzalez and Senator Adam Gomez were also in attendance, Western Mass News reported.

According to Melendez, the rise of Latino and Black-owned businesses in the Eastfield Mall "sets the tone" for transitioning malls, shopping plazas, and downtown storefronts around Springfield and Massachusetts.

"We congratulate the 12 new businesses and all 22 Latino businesses in the Eastfield Mall," he said, adding that the pandemic has only increased the community's desire to start their own businesses, per WWLP.

Business Owners Express Delight; Puerto Rican, Latino Shoppers Filled The Mall

Carlos and Wendy Torres' "All Things Anime" started from three shelves in another person's store, selling T-shirts, Funko Pop! vinyl figurines, and more - all related to the world of Japanese animation.

In November, they finally had their own space, as they are among the businesses that opened a store in the Eastfield Mall.

According to Torres, their business has "really taken off." Whenever people are really looking for things related to their favorite anime, Torres said, "their faces light up."

She also thinks it is a good improvement for the mall since people can now see the difference when they walk around.

Meanwhile, the owner of BoriSushi, Betsy Abreu, combined sushi techniques with traditional Puerto Rican ingredients such as plantains and avocado. Her rolls, Abreu said, resemble culinary mash-ups that have been going on in Puerto Rico for a time now, with cooked items like beef and pork and traditional rice.

"It's sushi with a Latin flavor and we are doing very well," she said.

Also, another business that features traditional Puerto Rican cuisine is the restaurant La Isla Menos, owned by Marielys Rosado.

According to her, the mall is filled with Puerto Rican and Latino shoppers. Rosado called the mall lively, a world that might not have been associated with it in recent years following the loss of traditional anchor stores like Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's.

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Eastfield Mall's Traditional Anchor Locations Remain Empty

Eastfield Mall settled its lawsuit against Cinemark and is now marketing that space after leasing it for a year as courtroom space.

Although Macy's will host a Spirit Halloween pop-up this summer and Diem Cannabis, a marijuana company, still has designs on it as a retail and growing location, the anchor locations remain unrented.

Nearly all of the mall's in-line stores, the ones facing the mall, are rented. Now it is a matter of persuading the public that Eastfield, built in 1967 as Greater Springfield's first enclosed mall, has retailers and customers.

Melendez announced that the mall is now offering microbusinesses free pop-up shop space for a month at a time. The program begins in April and includes professional business mentoring and assistance from the chamber in areas such as accountancy and social media marketing.

It is an opportunity to reach a whole new audience, according to Melendez.

After the one-month program, new enterprises will have the chance to expand into space in the Eastfield Mall or in the city of Springfield.

Alberto Navarro, who owns a nine-year-old art studio and custom clothing shop called Gifted Tones Paint and Music Lounge, claimed he is likely the oldest among the Latino businesses in the mall. He is currently rebranding as Neighborhood Dreamers, offering everything from graphic design to vinyl cutting and paint parties.

Navarro has seen the mall through all stages, from when there was not even a single person walking in the mall until now that it is crowded again.

He said current mall management, including manager Dave Thompson, works hard to host events and promotions.

The mall's role as a location for vaccination clinics and COVID testing contributed to attracting visitors and getting them inside.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: 16 new Latino-owned businesses open at the Eastfield Mall - from WWLP - 22News