For area residents hoping to find cilantro, plantains, chorizos or banana leaves in a local supermarket, the search is over.

The soon-to-open Compare Supermarket, a full-service food market located at 2 Adams Street Extension, will carry a full supply of food products and specialty items for the growing Latino population of Lynn and the North Shore.

Based on the success of their original store in Chelsea, owners Alberto and Betty Calvo and Tomas and Carmen Dominguez leased the site last November in hopes of expanding the Compare supermarket brand name on the north Shore. They also saw the opportunity to meet the needs of the strong Latino community of Lynn and its surrounding cities.

“We have been interested in Lynn for the last two years,” said Alberto Calvo. “ Lynn has a growing housing market and we know there have been Latino’s moving here from East Boston and Chelsea. The opening of this store is a natural expansion to better serve our customers.”

The Calvo and Dominguez couples, who migrated from Cuba and met while living in Massachusetts, worked in the food wholesale business before opening the Chelsea store in 1996. By founding Compare Supermarket, they sought to provide an outlet for a wide variety of ethnic foods including a full line of Goya products and traditional Latin American and Caribbean meats and produce.

“Our mission was to create convenient, neighborhood supermarket to meet the needs of the Latino community,” said Calvo. “One of our unique strengths is our large meat department, stocked with cuts of meat that are tailored for Hispanic taste.”

In addition its impressive meat department, the Lynn store will feature Latin American produce such as seasonal tropical fruits and various types of yams, squash and yucca, along with traditional American produce. Its grocery department will supply lines of Latino products such as Goya, La Costena and Vitarroz, allowing customers to choose from dried beans, cooking oils, spices, rice, and frozen prepared foods. The market will also have a dairy department with cheese and creams from Latin America, a bakery line with fresh baked breads and cookies, and selected health and beauty aids.

The compare Supermarket is located in the building previously operated by Midland Farms and Stop and Save, across from Keany Park at Lynn English High school. Since November, the owners have been hard at work renovating and painting the building and installing new equipment, shelving and refrigeration. The previous meat and produce preparation areas, which were inactive, have been restored in order to reinstate full-service meat and produce departments. The interior will be decorated in Latino taste and signs will be in both Spanish and English.

Much of the new display refrigeration equipment for the store has been purchased with the assistance of the Economic Development an industrial Corporation (EDIC/ Lynn) loan program. Based on the requirements of the loan, the owners have agreed to provide 40 full and part time employment positions for Lynn residents and to renovate the exterior front of the building.

Renovations are expected to begin in the summer.

Joining the compare business with the opening of the new Lynn store will be Calvo’s son-in-law and daughter, Marc and Vivian Lannotti. Marc will serve as manager of the market. The majority of employees will be Lynn residents, including two who have been working for a number of years at the Chelsea store. The market is scheduled to open in mid-February when the owners join city officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Calvo expects Compare supermarket will expand throughout the area in the future, with possible plans in development to open a third store within the next two years.

“Our name has already been recognized throughout the North Shore, and we want this to continue,” said Calvo. “As long as the Latino population continues to grow in this area, we plan on growing into other communities with them.”