The Rincon Latino – Mount Shasta’s Little Havana in the Pines by Kevin Wikse

 

Kevin Wikse


Tucked into 419 Chestnut Street like a smuggler’s secret, Rincon Latino is the kind of place you wander into once and then wonder how you ever lived without it. I’ve never met Miguel—the supposed man behind the magic—but I’ve met the woman at the counter, and she’s proof enough that the stories are true. She’s made of every fresh breeze that ever rolled down from Mount Shasta, every alpine flower that ever dared to bloom here, and every whisper of pine that’s ever chased a hiker down the trail. And yet, she’s also somehow threaded through with the warm pulse of the tropics—sweet rhythms and harmonies carried inland by Pacific waves, with an aftertaste of jasmine and coconut that lingers like an invitation to stay a little longer.

The wine, beer, and spirits are all fairly priced—borderline generous, really. Apparently, they even do smoothies here, though I’ve yet to indulge. My draw is something far more primal: they are, as far as I can tell, the only establishment in Mount Shasta City where a man can reliably score a real cigar. Not the polite little tubes that whisper in smoke, but manly, stout cigars that shout it—thick with character and confidence—the kind that would make a mob boss nod in approval or a Cuban from the 1950s break into a smile. And here’s the kicker: the prices are so reasonable that I half suspect the lady behind the counter simply charmed the delivery driver into leaving them for free.

I’m a regular, and I intend to remain so. Rincon Latino isn’t just a store. It’s a mood, a port of call, and for those who know what they’re looking for, a damn fine reason to come back again and again.

-Kevin Wikse



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