La Tia Delia

La Tia Delia’s Restaurant has been a staple of Market Street in Paterson long before the strip was designated Peru Square. The restaurant has been a prominent gathering place for Peruvian immigrants for decades. Since the waves of Peruvian immigration to New Jersey began in the 1960’s, a multitude of family owned shops, markets, and restaurants began to open up throughout the city. With roughly 75,870 people of Peruvian descent in New Jersey alone, the vicinity of Paterson serves as a cultural hub for Peruvian-American culture to flourish and prosper. The Peruvian community of Paterson is dispersed throughout the city and consists of several generations of families, all of which in someway interconnect through family, friendship, and/or their passion for food. Arguably, La Tia Delia’s provides the most authentic Peruvian food available in New Jersey, which is what initially led to the restaurant to become a principal Peruvian food destination in the city. More than a restaurant, it has become a gathering place for the community it helped establish. It has stood the test of time as generations were born literally and metaphorically into this new world, and continues to provide the tastes of a culture and life many left behind in pursuit of their American dreams.

Chin, Maria-Pia Negro. “Why Paterson, New Jersey, Is Famous in Lima, Peru.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, April 5, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archiv e/2016/05/peruvians-paterson/483288/

Rodriguez, Cindy Y. “5 Peruvian Restaurants to Try in Paterson, New Jersey Aka ‘Little Lima.’” Remezcla, September 6, 2016. https://remezcla.com/lists/food/5-peruvian-restaurants-try-paterson-new-jersey-aka-little-lima/

Francesco, Michael G. “Peruvians in Paterson.” Journal of Urban History 40, no. 3 (August 2014): 497–513. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0096144213516078