Local Salvadoran bakery and restaurant invites people to honor culture ‘one baked good at a time’

SEATTLE — It’s a few days after Thanksgiving, but for the local Salvadoran community, their time to gather comes after the holiday.

At the Salvadorean Bakery and Restaurant in White Center, Amnita Elgin and Ana Castro are sisters who have been bringing their childhood dishes to King County for 27 years.

One of their most popular is authentic street food, like pupusas, which are typically filled with meats, cheeses, and vegetables.

“You find pupusas anywhere in El Salvador, it’s like coffee in Seattle, every corner,” Elgin explained.

Elgin and Castro opened the bakery back in 1996.

“I grew up baking with my grandmother and aunt, my grandfather was a baker also, in a small village in El Salvador,” Elgin said.

Castro explained how a hobby in their hometown turned into a business.

“One day, she came to me and said, “Why don’t we open a business that we used to do in El Salvador?” Castro said.

Their business quickly grew into a hub for the Salvadoran community.

“There are some people who say, I feel like I’m in a small part of El Salvador when they come here,” said Elgin.

It wasn’t long until their traditional food and sweet treats were popular among residents in western Washington.

“We have to introduce our food not just to the Salvadoran people but to all the ethnicities around this neighborhood,” Castro said.

“We remind them our culture. Culture through food is very very nice, very good,” said Elgin.

Every day the restaurant is filled with people who come from all walks of life.

But every year, November 26 is the day for Salvadorans abroad, also known as Dia del Salvadoreño en el Exterior.

“Celebration that we basically, bring us back to the culture, to the root where we came from,” said Albert Martinez Saade.

Saade is in charge of the Seattle celebration on Sunday.

He’s been working side by side with Elgin and Castro to bring a piece of El Salvador to the States.

“We invited El Salvadoran from Oregon, from Idaho, from Montana, and the state of Washington to come to celebrate with us,” said Saade.

Together, they’re inviting everyone to honor their heritage with them, one baked good at a time.

“It’s your roots there. It’s your homeland, it’s your culture, it’s your food,” said Castro. “We have accomplished a lot and for some reason, we’re meant to be here.”

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