A local, family-owned supermarket is expanding its footprint once again as it prepares to develop its first store in Boston.

Vicente’s Supermarket is renovating the former vacant Walgreens on Quincy Street with the help of the local construction team, Cruz Companies.

Jason Barbosa, president of the supermarket, talked to the about the history of the family-owned business, which his father, Manny Vicente, started in 1994 with a convenience store in Brockton.

He said that he and his family, who are originally from Cape Verde, continue to follow their father’s example by catering to the community.

“When he started, [he was] offering products that you couldn’t really find anywhere else, and a different level of quality at the same time. [He] just worked his way up in terms of just growing the business,” he said. The store offers a diverse range of products that cater to many international communities. Their products include juices from the Guatemalan beverage company Del Frutal, soda from the Haitian company Couronne and meat and seafood staples from other countries in Latin America.

In 2000, when his father had the opportunity to relocate to a larger facility in Brockton — a hub for the Cape Verdean community — he took it, said Barbosa. According to GBH News and The Enterprise News, census data show that about 70,000 Cape Verdeans live in Massachusetts, making it the state with the largest population of Cape Verdeans outside their native country.

The rest is family history, as the Barbosa family continued to expand. Over the years, the business grew and the family now has stores in New Bedford and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

“We all were just committed,” Barbosa said. “We’ve seen the dream, we’ve seen the potential, and we’ve seen the opportunity” to expand on their work and collaborate on the goal, he said.

The latest move to Roxbury is because “we’ve always had the mindset of growing and serving our community,” Barbosa said.

Family members have always had their eyes and ears open to Boston, as customers would often ask them when they would set up shop in the city. “[But] real estate and find[ing] the right location is very difficult,” he said.

The move to Roxbury is also important because of the family’s intention to reinvest financially in the Black community while being able to help with the food deserts in the city.

“Serving our community and understanding that there’s a need” is a priority, Barbosa explained.

But it’s not just about what the store offers in terms of goods.

“[It’s] all these different touch points: customers, associates, business community members, vendors. It’s all connected for us. … that’s our purpose. That’s our mission,” he said.

“[It’s] not just selling food but creating a place in our stores where our customers feel at home…authentically. [When you] walk into Vicente’s…you feel the difference. …It’s a sense of belonging,” he said.

As much as the family business has thrived, running the business as a family has had its challenges, Barbosa said.

“The pros [are that] you get to spend time with your family. If you do butt heads, it’s family and you find ways to work it out and it comes from a genuine place,” and that everyone is trying to figure out the right thing to do to benefit the business, he said.

At the same time, they also make sure that everyone is present and on the same page, that they have great communication, transparency, integrity, and good character, qualities that carry into their personal and professional relationships.

“Those things are super important, but just … at least for me in my younger days, waking up, going to work, and being able to see my dad, that’s something that I love and appreciate…it can be a beautiful thing,” he said.

As far as what comes next for the business, “For us, it’s important to take one step at a time,” Barbosa said. There’re neighborhoods that we know we fit in that make sense for us to go in. …It’s important for us to stay true to who we are,” he said.

That belief is also something he advised Black and other entrepreneurs of color to consider, especially those who want to operate their own family businesses.

“In my opinion, it’s starting small, but having a big vision. Know where you want to go, know where your North star is: this is where I’m trying to go,” he said.

“Once you start making some money, you [should] figure out a way to reinvest that into your business,” he said. “Compounding is real. It’s real, not just [with] money, but it’s real with your work ethic and how you reinvest into your business. Long story short: it’s big vision, big dream. You need that.”