Lake Highlands has a new neighborhood habit, and it smells like fresh coffee and fried dough. Unimarket, a compact Latin market, bakery and café, opened its first U.S. location this winter and is already settling in like it has been there for years. Brothers Esneyder and Richard Ospina have squeezed groceries, a coffee bar and a small kitchen into a Kingsley Square storefront, turning it into a spot where neighbors swing by for house-roasted coffee and pantry staples from across Latin America. A steady mix of empanadas, sweets and full plates like Peruvian lomo saltado has already started pulling in repeat customers. In a part of town long dominated by chains, the place has the low-key, goods-and-grub feel of a shop meant for frequent visits.
Unimarket began a soft opening on Jan. 10 and is keeping limited hours while the team gets its footing, with plans to stretch its schedule for a full grand opening, according to The Dallas Observer. The outlet reports that the shop at 7215 Skillman St. stocks more than 650 distinct Latin American items and that the lomo saltado ordered by its reporter came to roughly $19.50. During this test run, doors have been open from about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the Ospinas say they plan to push into earlier mornings and later evenings once the grand opening hits.
From Calgary To Kingsley Square
The Unimarket concept first took root in Calgary, and the Lake Highlands store is the brand’s initial leap into the United States, per The Advocate. The Ospina brothers, who were born in Colombia and still operate the Canadian locations, transformed a former tanning salon into a roughly 2,000 square foot shop that now holds an in-house coffee roaster, pastry counter and a compact dining area. According to The Advocate, the owners spent years building out a roster of Latin pantry goods and pastries to fill those shelves, so the Dallas store did not open with any bare spots.
What To Expect
The menu keeps things tight and intentional. At the coffee and pastry bar, customers will find iced dulce de leche and horchata lattes, while the small kitchen turns out empanadas and fuller plates like Colombian bowls priced at about $12, according to The Dallas Observer. The publication also points to sweet guava puffs, a range of empanada fillings and grocery shelves lined with Argentinian yerba mate and Brazilian sodas. That mix of grab-and-go meals and hard-to-track-down pantry items is already drawing both morning coffee regulars and quick lunch traffic.
Neighborhood Reaction And Plans
The Ospinas are not stopping at coffee and groceries. They say they aim to host monthly pre-fixe dinners and have applied for permits to sell beer and wine, moves that could give the shop more of an evening pull, according to The Advocate. Early neighborhood response has been brisk, with Unimarket drawing repeat visitors and families who can handle breakfast and a quick grocery run in one stop. For now, the brothers say their focus is on fine-tuning what earns a spot on the shelves and building a reliable local base before they seriously consider expanding further into the U.S.
