International Market Boxes: City Fresh & Fast Mart
In 2021, we partnered with the Erie Downtown Partnership to visit eight different markets around Erie, all owned by new Americans and refugees. We wanted to give Erieites a taste of different cultures, so for each market we worked with store owners to curate boxes full of products unique to their cultures. And we’re back this year with four exciting new international markets!
The first market we visited this summer, City Fresh & Fast Mart, is an international market located at 155 E 25th Street in downtown Erie. Owner Lakpa Bomzan, alongside building owner Mongal Moktan, opened this shop in June of 2022 after spending 22 years in a refugee camp in Nepal. Born originally in Bhutan, Lakpa opened this shop in Erie in hopes of bringing something new to the city. This market carries Bhutanese, Nepali and Indian food, produce, spices and snacks.
This international market has a wide variety of produce, spices and snacks to choose from. We asked owner Lakpa what some of his favorite products in the store are and he answered, “momo with beans,” which is a traditional Tibetan dumpling stuffed with veggies and fried. Some of the products that we put in our box from this market include hot & lemon instant noodles, coconut candies, prawn flavored crackers, dal corn & rice puffs, plain udad papad and hot & sour lapsi candy.
Lakpa is very passionate about this market and he wants to see it thrive. Learn more about this market by visiting their website or read about the other markets we’ve visited at https://gonelocalerie.com/blog. Interested in purchasing an International Market Box? Check back on our online store for updates!