“It’s like opening a door to Brazil”: Space and Memory in an Ethnic Brazilian Restaurant

By Sophia Costa

Scholars of immigration and culture have long argued that ethnic restaurants can help immigrant patrons connect with one another and preserve memories from their home countries. Yet little is known about how these businesses can facilitate such experiences. To address this gap, I examine Playa, a Massachusetts-based Brazilian restaurant, asking: how do ethnic restaurants like Playa serve as communal spaces and sites for memorialization for immigrant customers? Drawing from participant observation at the restaurant and interviews with customers, this paper presents a threefold argument. I argue Playa allows its Brazilian immigrant customers to (1) reproduce, in the United States, the familiarity associated with domestic spaces from Brazil; and (2) reinforce their relationships with those who remain in Brazil, as well as other Brazilians in the U.S. However, not all Brazilian community members are equally able to enjoy these benefits of frequenting Playa, due to personal and structural constraints—most noticeably, gender and immigration status. Consequently, immigrant patrons’ engagement with ethnic restaurants reproduces existing power dynamics within and beyond their ethnic group.