Caribbean Business
in the DMV

El 24 de junio de 2026, dos terremotos de magnitud 7.2 y 7.5 sacudieron el norte de Venezuela con apenas 39 segundos de diferencia, dejando más de 1,400 muertos, miles de heridos y más de 50,000 desaparecidos. En respuesta, Arepa Zone (Washington, DC y College Park, MD) y Antojitos de Tu País (Fairfax, VA) lanzaron una campaña continua de recolección de medicamentos y suministros médicos para enviar ayuda directa a los afectados. Se aceptan medicamentos nuevos, sin abrir y no vencidos, así como insumos médicos básicos en los tres puntos del área DMV.

Puntos de entrega:
📍 Arepa Zone – 14th Street — 1121 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
📍 Arepa Zone – College Park — 4341 Calvert Rd, College Park, MD 20740
📍 Antojitos de Tu País – Fairfax — 3160 Spring St, Unit B, Fairfax, VA 22031

On June 24, 2026, twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck northern Venezuela just 39 seconds apart — the strongest to hit the country in over a century — killing more than 1,400 people, injuring thousands, and leaving over 50,000 missing. In response, Arepa Zone (Washington, DC and College Park, MD) and Antojitos de Tu País (Fairfax, VA) launched an ongoing medication and medical supply drive to send direct relief to those affected. New, unopened, and unexpired medications and basic medical supplies are accepted at all three DMV locations.

Drop-off locations:
📍 Arepa Zone – 14th Street — 1121 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
📍 Arepa Zone – College Park — 4341 Calvert Rd, College Park, MD 20740
📍 Antojitos de Tu País – Fairfax — 3160 Spring St, Unit B, Fairfax, VA 22031

Café Unido — the only Panamanian specialty coffee roaster in the US, sourcing beans from 50+ farms including the legendary Geisha variety — opens its third DC location at The Stacks SW, Spring 2026. Donisima Donuts, Latin-inspired artisanal donuts by Michelin-starred chef Miguel Guerra, moves permanently into Unido’s original La Cosecha space.

The University of Maryland Global Campus is hosting “Before the Americas,” featuring nearly 40 works by Caribbean, African, Latino and African American artists from the DC metro area. Curated by artist and historian Cheryl Edwards, the exhibition explores ancestral memory, migration and interconnectivity. On view at the UMGC Arts Program Gallery, 3501 University Blvd E, Hyattsville, MD.

Elegancia opened at La Cosecha at Union Market in February 2026, co-founded by actor Wilmer Valderrama and Daniella Senior of Colada Shop. Rooted in Caribbean cocktail heritage, the bar serves mojitos, rum-forward drinks, ceviches and tequenos in a space steeped in Latin American cultural symbolism.

As its Brookland teahouse location closes, Calabash Tea & Tonic has grown into a thriving national brand shipping award-winning blends across the country. Founded by Dr. Sunyatta Amen, a 5th-generation Jamaican Maroon and Cuban master herbalist, Calabash has been Yelp’s Most Loved for 15+ years.

A new Haitian restaurant and bar is opening at 7912 Georgia Ave — the very same space as Port-au-Prince Haitian Cuisine. Named to honor the foundational women of its community, Chez Aviole promises “the ultimate Caribbean experience” with Haitian dishes and cocktails in a cultural hub setting. Its liquor license was approved by Montgomery County in October 2025.

Pusser’s Caribbean Grille — a 30-year Annapolis waterfront institution at 80 Compromise St. — closed after the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel declined to renew its lease, then reopened as Pusser’s Landing at Lighthouse Point Marina, 2711 Boston St., Canton, Baltimore. The new location took over the former Bo Brooks and Drift Bar spaces at the marina, which has undergone a $40 million renovation. The restaurant brings its Caribbean menu — jerk chicken, crab cakes, coconut shrimp — and its signature Pusser’s Rum Painkiller cocktail to a pier-side setting on the Canton waterfront, with a hand-carved 40-ft private bar and year-round indoor/outdoor dining.

La Casa del Mofongo at 9441 Georgia Ave has built one of the largest Yelp followings of any Dominican restaurant in Maryland — over 1,400 reviews. Serving Caribbean and Latin cuisine with mofongo as the centerpiece, alongside oxtail, camarones, empanadas and a full bar. Open daily from 11am.

Gisele’s Creole Cuisine at 2407 Price Ave has been serving Silver Spring’s Haitian community since 2017, named after the owner’s mother who trained in French/Creole culinary arts in Haiti. Menu highlights include diri djon djon, stewed oxtail, fried cabrit and rum punch, with live jazz every Saturday 6–10pm and Sunday 1–6pm.

Taíno Foods in Lorton, Virginia is a women-owned restaurant and catering business whose very name reclaims indigenous Caribbean heritage — honoring the Arawak people who were the original inhabitants of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola and the Bahamas. Serving mofongo, pastelillos, arroz con gandules and full catering across the DMV.

After TikTok food critic Keith Lee called Jerk@Nite “the best Caribbean food I have ever had,” the brand is now franchising nationally. Founded by Howard University graduate Denville Myrie Jr. in 2012, Jerk@Nite now operates three DC restaurants, a downtown Baltimore location at 21 N. Eutaw St. across from the Hippodrome Theatre, and a Detroit outpost.

Washingtonian featured Punta Cana in their July 2025 issue, calling it “transportive” — a standout new Dominican restaurant in the DMV. Founded by Maryland native Margarita Rodriguez at 9324 Georgia Ave. The menu stars mofongo, mofonguitos, maduros, chicharrón and classic rice-and-beans bowls.