The clash between American and Spanish cultures is a central theme that draws immigrants to the Latin deli. In an interview with Melus, Ortiz Cofer emphasizes that this theme is fundamental to all the stories and poems in The Latin Deli. Her writing reflects her personal journey of attempting to reconcile the contradictions in her cultural identity. She explains, "I write in English, yet I write obsessively about my Puerto Rican experience...That is how my psyche works. I am a composite of two worlds...I lived with...conflictive expectations: the pressures from my father to become very well versed in the English language and the Anglo customs, and from my mother not to forget where we came from. That is something that I deal with in my work all the time." She further elaborates, "One of the things that is so dissonant about the lives of children in my situation is that I would go to school in Paterson and mix and mingle with the Anglos and Blacks, where the system of values and rules were so much different than those inside our apartment, which my mother kept sacred. In our apartment, we spoke only Spanish, we listened only to Spanish music, we talked about la casa (back home in Puerto Rico) all the time. We practiced a very intense Catholic religion, with candles in the bathtub, pictures of the Virgin and Jesus everywhere." The deli's patrons, like Ortiz Cofer's parents, strive to preserve their cultural traditions to maintain a strong sense of identity and origin. Here, they encounter symbols of their culture—the Mother and Child magnet and especially the food. They also have the chance to hear and speak their native language.

In an interview with Callaloo, Ortiz Cofer talks about how establishments like the Latin deli helped Spanish immigrants reconnect with their cultural roots. She explains, "The book is called The Latin Deli because the bodegas, which were the centers and hearts of the barrios in New Jersey, were referred to as delis by some of us. There were also Jewish and Italian delis. So, if you sold sandwiches, it was considered a deli, and that became part of our language...[F]ood plays a crucial role in nurturing the barrio. For my parents, their vision of paradise was eating pasteles (pork meat turnovers)." The deli owner featured in "The Latin Deli" is reminiscent of a character in one of the collection's short stories, "Corazon's Café." Ortiz Cofer portrays this woman as "deeply dedicated to nurturing the barrio, to infusing life into it, not by preaching or becoming a renowned thinker, but by keeping this bodega open. This way, the residents of 'el building' could enjoy their pasteles, savor their cafe (coffee), and have a taste of what was necessary to nourish them spiritually."

In the deli, patrons elevate their shopping experience to an art form by reading "the labels of packages aloud, as if they were the names of lost lovers." A "fragile old man lost in the folds of his winter coat" recites his shopping list "like poetry." These everyday store items become poetic, reminding customers of their heritage and reinforcing their personal identities.

This theme is also evident in the connection Ortiz Cofer forms with the deli owner. Ortiz Cofer suggests that, through her poetry and stories about the lives of Spanish immigrants, she offers comfort and a sense of identity, similar to what the deli owner provides to those who share her cultural heritage. In her work Callaloo, she writes, "The idea of staying alive by telling stories is something that has always fascinated me...I like the idea of the never-ending story that feeds one generation and then another. It's my own literary heritage; I am nourished by the stories that I heard and then I feed others, I hope. All my women—Corazon, Mama, all of them—rely on their imaginations to make their lives richer and to teach their daughters."