Elizabeth Alcaras
On a cool Tuesday morning, Elizabeth Alcarraz ambled around boxes of strawberries in the narrow aisles of her brightly lit fruit store squeezed into an aging West Carson strip mall.
Behind one glass shelf were freshly sheared watermelons and cucumbers, with rows of tamarind candy vibrantly packaged above. It was about a half hour before Noemi’s Fruits opened at 8 a.m., but she had already flipped over the paper “open” sign now that her prep work was done.
The shop, named for her youngest daughter, is crammed full of other goodies too — juices and smoothies, elotes (Mexican grilled street corn) and tamales (mostly on weekends), as well as snacks Alcarraz has adapted and created herself.
