In the late 1990s, Francisco Ochoa and his father Froylan would pile into the family car and head from their home in Grants Pass to the Willamette Valley—where they’d go door-to-door, selling homemade Mexican cheeses to the region’s booming Latino community. For Francisco, it was a reflection of his upbringing in Mexico, where such door-to-door sales—whether for cheese, tamales, or other goods—were fairly common.

Froylan passed away in 2000, but Francisco—then 18—carried on the nascent family business. He opened the company’s first cheese factory in Eugene with his brother in 2002, moved into a larger factory in Albany in 2009, and—in November 2020—opened the first Don Froylan Creamery restaurant and factory along Portland Road Northeast in Salem.

Less than a year after opening, Francisco (now the owner and founder) says that some of his regular customers remember him and his father from those earliest door-to-door days—when they’d sell cheese around the same neighborhood Don Froylan is based in today. “We were really excited about the support we were getting from the community, and we were thrilled to make something that people liked,” he says.

Today, Don Froylan Creamery is one of several Latino-owned-and-operated businesses in the Mid-Willamette Valley that reflect Hispanic culture and tradition. Read on for more great spots:

El Mercadito might not have the same notoriety as some of the other eateries in downtown Woodburn. But what it lacks in profile, the market makes up for with sheer variety.

Sure, you’ll find tacos and the like at El Mercadito. But you’ll also find a ton of snacks, street cuisine, sweet treats, and more. The wide-ranging menu includes elote (grilled street corn that’s popular in Mexico), ice cream, fresh mangonadas (frozen mango drinks infused with various spices and flavors), raspados (fruity, sometimes sweet, shaved ice desserts), pupusas, and more.

Whatever your sweet tooth may be craving, chances are good you’ll find plenty to love at the Don Bigote Churreria along Portland Road Northeast in Salem.

Don Bigote gets a lot of mileage out of the doughy treat with ice cream sandwiches (where the cookie or wafer “breading” is replaced with churros), banana splits (topped with churros), and other mouthwatering desserts. In all, Don Bigote serves churros in 11 different ways.

But diners can also enjoy sweet crepes (one made with tiramisu cake and vanilla ice cream), savory crepes (one of which is stuffed with cheese, pineapple, and grilled pork), milkshakes (topped with churro “straws”), a dozen flavors of ice cream, and traditional drinks (like the sweet, yet slightly tart mangonada).

If you find yourself undecided while standing in line at Azuls Taco House, don’t feel bad: The taqueria’s taco selection runs nearly two dozen deep (with Thai- and Korean-inspired tacos, as well as more traditional offerings), and that’s to say nothing of the wraps, enchiladas, burritos, salads, and tostadas rounding out the menu at Azuls.

Azuls is owned and operated by Tino Land and Augustin “J” Razo, Jr., who have run several food trucks around the Salem area for several years. The duo opened its first Azuls outpost in West Salem (home to a cozy outdoor patio space) and have since expanded into downtown (sharing a space with La Familia Cider—more on that later) and nearby Dallas.

The mid-Willamette Valley is home to numerous outstanding hard cider makers—but only one has built its business around paying homage to aguas frescas.

La Familia Cider Company was founded in 2017 by a family of first-generation Mexican immigrants—and, in the years since, has crafted several recipes inspired by the fresh fruit drinks that are popular in Mexico and Central America. La Familia's popular offerings include a Jamaica hibiscus cider (featuring a floral, slightly tart flavor profile) and a tropical, citrus-tinged guava cider.

You can find La Familia’s pink and green cans at grocery stores and bottle shops throughout the Pacific Northwest, but the company’s taphouse in downtown Salem spotlights the cider maker’s fun flavors on draft—along with ciders from producers throughout the Pacific Northwest. The taphouse also shares space with Azuls Taco House, known for a menu stuffed with creative tacos and fresh, non-alcoholic aguas frescas.

Not far from Interstate 5, at the heart of Portland Road Northeast—ground zero for Latino businesses in Salem—Don Froylan Creamery offers an immersive experience in the world of cheese-making.

For starters, visitors can peer into the Don Froylan factory, through massive windows, to see cheese being made in real-time. “It really interests people a lot, so I wanted to make sure that we had the ability to show people how we make the cheese in our new place,” Francisco says of the decision to show off the operation.

Once it’s processed and packaged, the cheese can be enjoyed in a variety of ways—both on the road and at the on-site restaurant. Visitors can purchase a variety of cheeses to-go, try a quesadilla flight (in which diners can sample four miniature quesadillas featuring different Don Froylan cheeses), order full-sized quesadillas with custom fillings, and even nosh on a plate of filling nachos.

If you're looking for quality Mexican baked goods around Salem, your search just might begin and end with Daisy's Mexican Bakery. The celebrated bakery offers cakes to order (such as filling tres leches cake), pan dulce (a kind of sweet bread), fruit-filled empanadas, a variety of breads, and other sweet treats.

The family-owned Sierra Mexican Restaurant sits along Oregon Route 22 in the community of Gates—and makes a worthy stop, whether you're hiking around the area's forests, spending time on nearby Detroit Lake, or heading further into the Cascades.

Smoke damage forced the community-minded eatery to close following the Santiam Canyon wildfires in September 2020, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has kept it closed throughout 2021, but Sierra Mexican Restaurant hopes to return soon. When it does, expect popular dishes to reappear on the menu—including chips with fresh, house-made salsa; thoughtfully crafted margaritas; sizzling fajitas; filling burritos; and more.

Stay updated with reopening plans on the Sierra Mexican Restaurant Facebook page.

Looking for a taste of authentic Mexican culture that goes beyond what’s on your plate? You’ll find it at the Lancaster Flea Market—open on weekends in northeast Salem.

Given the nature of the flea market, vendor offerings change all the time—so return trips can be quite rewarding. On any given visit, you might find clothing, artwork, toys, crafts, and other items. (Of course, you’ll still find plenty of good eats at the flea market. Aguas frescas, fruit dishes, tacos, and ice cream are just some of what’s served each weekend.)

Before you go, a friendly heads-up: The market is technically open on Fridays, but most vendor booths open only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Xicha Brewing is the only Latino-owned brewery, not just in Oregon—but the entire Pacific Northwest. And since opening in West Salem in 2017, the brewery has worked tirelessly to honor Latin American traditions while sharing those cultural touchstones with visitors from all over.

For starters, Xicha eschews the notion of traditional pub fare for dishes inspired by Mexican and Central American flavors—with tortas, cubano sandwiches, tacos, empanadas, and patatas bravas representing just some of the brewery's mouthwatering entrées. The Xicha beer selection is similarly eclectic; the brewery’s golden ale is crafted with guava for a slightly sweet finish, for instance, while the Mexican-style lager is a sessionable, yet full-flavored beer with biscuity notes.

Xicha also hosts occasional games of lotería—a traditional Mexican game that's similar to Bingo, only with picture cards, instead of just letters and numbers. The brewery usually pairs food and drink specials with the games, as well.

It's impossible to spotlight Latino businesses in the Willamette Valley without a nod to Luis’s Taqueria—so we won't try.

The Woodburn taqueria was founded by Luis and Luisa Quintero, a husband-and-wife team of Mexican immigrants who moved to Oregon in 1989. Luis's opened in 1993 and has been dishing Michoacan-style dishes, many crafted with homemade corn tortillas, ever since. Popular offerings include ceviche tostadas and birria tacos—but the star here might actually be Barack Obama, who ate lunch at Luis's while campaigning for president in 2008 (and whose photo, along with news clippings about the stop, hangs on the wall).

Luis's also happens to sit surrounded by numerous Latino businesses around downtown Woodburn—so consider pairing your meal with a stop into La Morenita Tortillas (which sells fresh, homemade corn and flour tortillas), Trapala Brewpub & Rotisseria (noted for its rich mole and filling tortas), and Paletería y Nevería El Paisanito (serving fruit cups, paletas, and other Latino dessert dishes). Santana's Mexican Food, just down the street, is another popular taqueria in Woodburn; the long-running restaurant offers burritos and tacos crafted with handmade tortillas, sopes, and a variety of other filling dishes.