Mi Tierra Foods

Mi Tierra Foods has been part of San Pablo Avenue in West Berkeley for about three decades, selling groceries from Mexico and Central and South America from its storefront at number 2082. A May 2020 Berkeleyside article on corner stores during the pandemic described it as a fixture of the avenue and dated the store to 1996. The chamber's directory spelled the name Mi Terra and lists Jesus Mendez as the contact; the article introduced Jesus Mendez Jr., then assistant manager, who had worked in the store since he was fifteen.

Inside the store

The Berkeleyside piece laid out the core of the business: fresh produce, a meat counter, pan dulce baked fresh, and a taqueria inside the store, alongside shelves of packaged goods from across Latin America. That mix, a full grocery with hot food at the back, makes a market like this useful for a week's shopping and for a quick lunch alike.

Six years on, it is worth asking what the taqueria is serving now and what time the pan dulce comes out of the oven.

Shopping and ordering

Ask the meat counter about custom cuts or marinated meat for a gathering, and how much notice it needs for a large order. If you are feeding a group from the taqueria, call ahead rather than ordering at the counter at noon. Check which payment methods the store accepts, including EBT. San Pablo Avenue doubles as a state highway through Berkeley, so plan on a side-street space or one of the AC Transit buses that run the length of the avenue.

Where shoppers come from

The store serves West Berkeley and the flats first, then Albany to the north and Emeryville and Oakland to the south, with Piedmont, Alameda, San Leandro and San Lorenzo farther out in Alameda County.

The number in the directory is 510-704-1726. Other listings show a different number, so if this one does not connect, send a message through the store's Instagram or Facebook page.