Brazilian Finest: New Shop on the Block

Natives of Melrose, imagine this: You’re in a foreign country, a universe away from Main Street, and one day you stumble upon a store that sells all your New England favorites, from Mighty Malts to Sky Bars, maple syrup to Moxie. Suddenly you’re buying up the place and heading home for a homestyle chow-down.

Well, now you have an idea of what some of your South American neighbors may feel about goods from Brazilian Finest, the new shop at 31 West Wyoming Ave., a block down from the commuter rail station. Recent arrivals and married couple Marcia and Gustavo DaSilva—natives of Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, respectively—have stocked the store with their favorites from home, from foodstuffs to fashion items, displaying them through great glass windows in the space formerly occupied by an antiques shop.

The DaSilvas, Melrose residents, were surprise entrepreneurs. While walking home one day, the pair, then working at a Brazilian restaurant, saw opportunity in the storefront windows around the corner from their home. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Why not?’” said Marcia. 

The store opened April 9 after a months-long renovation involving new plumbing, paint, and flooring.  In addition to food, Brazilian Finest stocks jewelry, bags, sandals, and scarves. Personal-care items include body oils and moisturizing creams from the tough-to-find Natura brand, known for its link to environment-friendly ingredients and social sustainability.  

Customers are already flocking in. “We have regulars,” confirms Marcia. They include nosy Yankee locals as well as neighbors from Latin America who are pleased to find products they’d previously have sought out in large immigrant communities in Everett, Malden, or Allston.

In the mood for guava cookies or biscoito de polvilho (cassava-flour biscuits)? They’re in stock, delivered by the Stoneham-based Pao Paulo bakery. Coffee? Look no further for Pilao or Cabocho. Or have you been looking for the cold yerba mate tea of the type vendors sell on South American beaches? Select a box of Matte Leao. Those with an upset stomach (or a hangover!) can pick up a box of Boldo do Chile. 

Brazilian Finest also sells juices, smoothies, and Guarana Antarctica, a brand of soda they sell to at least one customer by the case.

Candies are sold by the package or in penny-candy form; as Melrose Patch munched on a Yoki Pacoquinha, a nutty paste that melts in the mouth—think of a Butterfinger without that pesky chocolate coating—Marcia emphasized the staple ingredients, like oil, flour, seasoning, and beans, in celebration of the country's cooking culture. Proudly holding a recipe for feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, a stew made with beans and pork, she said, “We have every ingredient on this list in the store right now,” she say.

Prices are good, too. Sick of paying $3 at the supermarket for a 3 oz. container of spices, two- thirds of which you’ll never use? Here you can buy 85-cent, one-ounce packets of acafra (saffron) erva doce (anise) and colorau/annatto (ground paprika).

Saving money on the food many leave room for purchase of the jewelry and bags.  Notable are the bracelets and handbags made of a golden grass called caipim dourado, which are stylish and look like they cost much more than their prices, which fall between $12 and $35. 

Brazilian Finest, just minutes from Main Street, and is one more reason to visit a small corner of the city that with the Busy Bee bakery, Heavenly Licks, and other new and revitalized businesses, promises to be a part of the retail renaissance that marks downtown Melrose in the year to come.

Brazilian Finest is located at 31 West Wyoming Ave. in Melrose and can be reached at (781) 662-0434. Hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.