About Us

Tropical Foods is the pioneer ethnic food retailer in Boston. Although it remains the premier supermarket for Spanish, African American, West Indian and African cuisine; Tropical Foods is the “Supermarket for Everyone”.

* For a listing of some of our products & services, click here.

Local and affordable, Tropical Foods is the best of all worlds. We are the neighborhood grocery store for Dudley Square in Boston, providing our 15,000+ customers’ (per week) grocery needs such as – milk, eggs, fresh meat, fresh vegetables & fruit and more. But, we are also a destination for customers from all over New England who travel to Tropical Foods for our outstanding selection of ethnic produce, curries, rice, beans, and hard-to-find ethnic specialties from around the world.

Come visit Tropical Foods and discover a truly unique and exciting supermarket.


History

In 1961, Pastor Medina was forced out of his supermarket business and ultimately out of his home country - Cuba - by Fidel Castro.

Coming to the United States with his wife, two daughters and literally just the clothes on their back; Pastor worked many jobs and saved for his dream of one day owning a supermarket again.

In 1974, Pastor rented a small corner of a building on Washington Street in Boston’s Dudley Square selling just plantains – earning the store the name that most of its Spanish clientele still call it today: “El Platanero” (The Banana Man). Pastor’s brother Andres soon joined the company and together, over the next 14 years, their corner store had expanded to a small grocery store with over two dozen employees.

In 1988, Pastor sold the store to his son-in-law, Ronn Garry Sr. who coined the name “Tropical Foods”. Ronn Sr. continued Pastor’s growth and further expanded the store --turning Tropical Foods in to a full-service supermarket.

In 2006, brothers Ronn and Randy Garry bought Tropical Foods from Ronn Sr. 

In early 2015, Tropical Foods opened a brand new 27,000 sf state-of-the-art store just behind the old one. In addition to all the same great items that were carried in the old store, the new location now has a service deli department, a service fish department, and a bakery. Modern, spacious & fresh… Tropical Foods really is the best of all worlds!!!
Retailer of the Year announcement 2022 Watch our Video on YouTube

Nubian Square Businesses making an impact on the communities they serve

Complete Site Directory