For many Latinos, food is more than something to eat. It is family, tradition and a connection to home.

For decades, Mexicantown Bakery and Armando's Mexican Restaurant have helped provide all three in southwest Detroit. Behind the pastries, cakes and family recipes is a story of perseverance that began with immigrant parents who arrived in Detroit looking for opportunity and built a legacy that now spans generations.

"We came here in '66 with my parents from Cuba," said Mexicantown Bakery owner Omar Hernandez.

Watch Sara Molina's video report below: A Southwest Detroit family's recipe for success

Hernandez and his sister, Cecilia Benedict, general manager of Armando's Mexican Restaurant, said their parents worked at a nearby meat-packing plant after settling in Detroit. Hard work quickly became a family value.

"We always worked," Benedict said. "That's all we did. It was ingrained in our blood."

That work ethic helped the family establish businesses that have become staples in southwest Detroit. Before the family gained ownership of Armando's in the '80s, they opened their own bakery.

Years later, Hernandez opened Mexicantown Bakery in 1995. Now, more than three decades later, it continues to grow.

"It's gonna be 31 years now," Hernandez said. "Hispanics are very entrepreneurial."

According to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Latino-owned businesses across Michigan generate billions of dollars annually, with southwest Detroit serving as one of the state's most significant hubs for Hispanic entrepreneurship.

Wayne State University Latino studies professor Jorge Chinea said the Hernandez family's story reflects a broader trend among Latino-owned businesses.

"A lot of Latino-owned businesses start family-owned, and then they get fixed and address the needs of the Latino community," Chinea said.

While operating a small business can be challenging for anyone, Chinea said Latino entrepreneurs have historically faced additional obstacles, including limited access to capital, labor shortages and the need to constantly adapt to changing economic conditions.

"If you adjust to the market forces and you make allowances that things are changing around you, you can survive," Chinea said.

As southwest Detroit's Latino population has diversified over the years, so have the products offered at the bakery.

"We have a lot more Central and Latin Americans," Hernandez said. "Guatemalans, Hondurans, Colombians, Venezuelans."

Benedict said the bakery responded by adding products that reflected those communities' traditions and tastes.

"They want to have that family feeling," she said.

The family's reach now extends far beyond southwest Detroit. Hernandez said social media has helped attract customers from throughout Michigan and neighboring regions.

"Over 50% of our clientele comes from half an hour or an hour away on the weekends," he said. "They come from Ohio, Canada."

Like many businesses, the family also faced uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"COVID. That was like my, 'oh my God, we're gonna get through COVID,'" Benedict said. "But you know what? You just did it every single day."

Looking back on decades of success, the siblings said their advice to future entrepreneurs is simple: stay committed, work hard and pursue something you genuinely enjoy.

"Do what you love," Benedict said, "and success will come."

Omar has also owned numerous businesses aside from the bakery, but today, Mexicantown Bakery continues to offer more than pastries and desserts. For many visitors, it offers a taste of culture, community and the history of a family that helped shape southwest Detroit.

To learn more about the bakery, click visit their website.

Another phase of the Restore the Reuther project is complete.

Over the weekend, the Michigan Department of Transportation crews closed both eastbound and westbound sides of I-696 between I-75 in Hazel Park and M-10, the Lodge Freeway, in Southfield.

The closure gave crews time to move westbound traffic from the eastbound side of the freeway back onto the newly reconstructed westbound lanes.

MDOT says this is the second to last step for the I-696 project. Eastbound is set to reopen later this year.

Watch Sara Molina's video report below: Everything is under construction: Westbound I-696 lanes, exits open

Drivers said they are ready for it to be done.

It just feels like literally everything is under construction all the time. But it definitely influences gas prices. Like personally, having to pay more gas because of how much I have to take detours, driver Kate Moore said.

For more than a year, the eastbound lanes of I-696 between I-75 and the Lodge have been closed as part of the project.

696 in particular, I actually I don't take it too often, but when I did and there was construction, it would suck because it'd be down to like one lane sometimes. You know, traffic all the way down the freaking highway, driver Jaden Bunton said.

Exit ramps from I-75 to M-10 have opened with westbound I-696, except for the off ramp exit to Woodward Avenue.

That will remain closed until Saturday, Oct. 17, while crews continue resurfacing work on the service drive at westbound 10 Mile Road.

As Hispanic Heritage Month continues, many Latinos are reflecting on the role language plays in their identity and culture.

For some, Spanish is the language they grew up speaking at home. For others, it is a connection that's faded over generations as families adapted to life in the United States. Now, a growing community in metro Detroit is helping people reclaim that connection.

See the full story from Sara Molina in the video below Habla Detroit creates space for people to practice and reclaim Spanish

It's called Habla Detroit, founder Bethany Cox said the group was created to help people build confidence while learning or rediscovering the language.

"It is a space for people to be able to build their confidence and practice their Spanish in a space where they can feel safe and not feel afraid to make mistakes," Cox said.

Cox said she's been learning Spanish for more than a decade. After studying linguistics in college, she began creating language-learning content on social media. In just two years, she has built an audience of more than 160,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.

Last month, she brought that online community into the real world by hosting Habla Detroit's first Spanish-speaking mixer.

"I open Habla Detroit to anybody on any level, whether you only know how to say 'hola' or whether you grew up with native-speaking parents in the household who didn't speak the language for any reason," Cox said.

For many second- and third-generation Latinos, that experience is deeply personal.

"I hear from a lot of second and third generations that they're ashamed, that they're embarrassed that they don't know the language, that they can't communicate with their family members," Cox said.

Research from the Pew Research Center shows Spanish use and proficiency often declines from one generation to the next. Experts say the trend is closely linked to assimilation.

"Because the American story has always been about assimilation," said Jorge Chinea, a Wayne State University professor of history, Latino and African American studies.

Chinea, who is Puerto Rican, said many immigrant families faced pressure to adopt English because speaking another language could lead to discrimination or exclusion.

"If you maintained you were shunned, basically you were dismissed. You were not American enough," Chinea said.

He said language can serve as an important bridge to culture and family history, but speaking Spanish is not the only way someone can embrace their Latino identity.

"I don't believe that you have to be conversant in Spanish to embrace Latino culture," Chinea said. "But a lot of students would actually come to us desiring that, letting us know in uncertain terms, 'I want to recapture it. I want to have it. I need it. It's part of me.'"

That desire to reconnect is something Cox said she sees regularly through Habla Detroit.

She recalls meeting a Puerto Rican man whose family stopped speaking Spanish at home after his mother married someone from the United States.

"I'm glad to see him come out to the event and continue to realize that it's never too late," Cox said. "I don't want anybody to ever feel like it's too late."

While Habla Detroit welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds, Cox said the group's mission goes beyond language practice. It's about community, and for many participants - it is an opportunity to reconnect with family, culture and community.

The next Habla Detroit event is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Tulum. To purchase tickets or to connect with Bethany Cox for learning services - click here.