LATINO BUSINESSES THRIVE IN THE HEART OF ALLENTOWN
On five blocks of Seventh Street, they cater to a new market.
By Jose Cardenas, Of the Morning Call

Standing behind the counter of his fledgling Dominican bakery on Seventh Street in Allentown, Marino Castro predicts he is at the front end of a business trend in center city.

Along the gritty street on this muggy morning, just a short distance from his store, a series of shops with Spanish-language signs hawk goods and services to light foot-traffic.

There's Nancy's Travel and Cashier, the Precio Loco 99-cent story, Los Compadres Barber Shop, El Malecon Cuban restaurant and La Mexicana Mexican Grille, among others.

In the last few years the area has gained several Latino businesses, said Castro, who opened his 3 Js Dominican Cake shop nine months ago after moving his family here from Brooklyn, N.Y.

''In five more years,'' the 47-year-old baker said in rapid-fire Spanish, ''this is going to be all Latino.''

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