Culture & Community | East Rock | Economic Development | Arts & Culture | Culinary Arts
Top: Maria and Humberto Espinal, partners in both life and work. Bottom: The Grilled Cluckin sandwich in all its glory. Abiba Biao Photos.
There’s an intricate, flavorful dance that comes with Sabor Sajoma’s “Grilled Cluckin” sandwich. The arugula provides a sharpness that hits the tongue right away. The melted provolone and chipotle mayo ooze from the sides, caressing the grilled chicken and red bell peppers. A toasted Portuguese roll flakes with every bite, provides a satisfying crunch.
At Sabor Sajoma, it is easy to see why this is a popular dish, second only to the “Cubano Sabrosa.”
Say hello to Sabor Sajoma Kitchen and Market, bringing Dominican food and flare to East Rock on 486 Orange St. The restaurant, which doubles as a market, takes the place of The Oriental Pantry, a Korean grocery store that operated for 38 years under owner Yoon-Ock Kim and closed in 2023.
Behind the cozy storefront, store owners Maria and Humberto Espinal form a team act, partners in both life and work. Maria handles the market inventory, while Humberto handles the kitchen, menu and preparation.
The two created the business with meticulous thought and care, visible from the name of the shop down to the sandwiches, sweets, and homemade dishes that they serve up every day for hours on end (last year, they were even open for catering on Thanksgiving).
“Sajoma” is a nickname for Maria’s hometown, San José de las Matas, in the Dominican Republic. “Sabor,” meanwhile, is the Spanish word for flavor. Together, the name means “Sajoma Flavor,” emphasizing the act of bringing Dominican tastes and traditions to New Haven, through the power of a single plate.
“She’s the face of the business,” Humberto said with a laugh.
The two also have an iconic logo, derived after a series of failed attempts. Their original concept was to incorporate the bright blue, red, and white of the Dominican flag, but it never seemed quite right. Maria passed the task onto her then 12-year-old son Jeancarlos, who is now 14.
In just two days, he came up with the now-signature orange circle, topped with bright green leaves as the restaurant’s name appears inside. The logo now appears across store products. The bright green leaves symbolize freshness, and serve as a reminder for customers that they can trust the shop and high food quality.
Opening a restaurant has been a longtime goal for the Espinals, who moved to New Haven 17 years ago. After spotting the vacant space last year—conveniently located near Humberto’s workplace at Yale—the couple knew that it was the right place and jumped on the opportunity.
While a market wasn’t in their original plan—initially, the two envisioned a restaurant only, Maria said—they pivoted when the retail space became available. Now, Humberto describes it as “a dream come true,” where the shop’s past and present sometimes meet each other on the neatly stocked shelves.
The Espinals still pay homage to The Oriental Pantry with Korean and Asian foods, spices, and products that people used to rely on Kim for. As she stocks the market with new products, Maria also pays attention to the needs of customers, from snacks and pain medicine to Santo Domingo Cafe, a popular coffee brand back in the Dominican Republic.
“We try to have essentials because we are in a college community and we try to have what people are looking for,” she said.
While the two are grateful to have the shop open and running, they said that time management is sometimes difficult, particularly as Humberto juggles the shop with his job as a chef at Yale.
“It's a lot of long hours,” Humberto said. “Think about if you want to sacrifice the hours that you spend with the family with the friends or spend the business. But if you have the drive, it is possible. Everything is possible with the drive and the passion.”
From freshly squeezed passion fruit and soursop juice to breakfast sandwiches and mofongo, Sabor Sajoma has something for everyone. Their menu includes vegetarian options such as their "Just Got Flowers” sandwich featuring roasted cauliflower, spinach, cheddar cheese and chipotle mayo or “The Rainbow Wrap” with tomatoes, carrots, peppers, cabbage, hummus, and herb aioli. The star of the show, however, is their Cubano sandwich, made of roasted pork shoulder that is left to marinate overnight.
A chef for almost 25 years, Humberto has a special appreciation for the culinary arts, especially after beginning his career in New York at the age of 14 as a dishwasher and working his way through a series of restaurant jobs. From this humble beginnings, he slowly rose through the ranks as a chef.
Now 41, Humberto has carried the knowledge he’s learned over the years into his work. His culinary expertise has continually been recognized, including top honors in the Culinary Challenge at the 60th annual National Association of College and University Food Services in 2018. Humberto has been working as a Yale Hospitality Chef since 2015.
When designing the menu for Sabor Sajoma, he said his biggest inspiration was to make people feel “welcomed,” which took place over a couple of months. Now he hopes to amplify and share Dominican food and culture, wanting to cement its place in the Elm City and establish a thriving Dominican food scene.
“Dominican food is not being exposed enough as it is, especially in New Haven,” he said. “[In] New Haven, the Dominican community is really small, I would say. It started coming up after a lot of people moved from New York, but before it was almost nobody ever here.”
The Espinals have plans to expand their business, hoping to offer additional menu items like Chimichurri burger, also known as chimi, a popular burger dish in the Dominican Republic which features ground pork or beef, grilled and served on a pan de agua and garnished with chopped cabbage and salsa. On top of their list of future plans was also opening a food truck.
“That's what I want to show the people like when you walk in, you feel welcomed by the owners, the atmosphere,” he said. “ You’re gonna taste the really good cooked food that feels like home.”