Cafe Havana on Cortez Road West open for business
BRADENTON -- Though the exterior still has a Jose's Real Cuban Food sign, Café Havana has officially taken over the building at 8799 Cortez Road W.
Owner Al Quintana said he's still waiting on the permitting process to finish the sign but they did have a soft opening this week.
The Cortez Road West restaurant is the second Café Havana location in Bradenton. The other can be found at 1440 63rd Ave. E. Quintana and his brother, Jose, have worked in the restaurant business for the last 20 years and have hoped to open a second Café Havana for a while.
The beloved Bradenton Cuban food mainstay Jose's Real Cuban Food closed this year and left a void in Bradenton's restaurant scene. The establishment was featured on Food Network's TV show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" in 2011.
The owners were so excited about opening the second location, they started serving customers before all of their inspections were complete.
Quintana said he believes the Cortez Road West restaurant is in compliance because the last inspection conducted April 14 -- when Jose Baserva still owned the restaurant -- was a "clean bill of health." The Cortez Road Café Havana hasn't had an inspection under the new ownership.
On Friday Quintana wasn't feeling well, but was in touch with his bookkeeper to set the initial inspection up with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regula
tion's Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
A spokesperson for FDBPR said any new location must have an initial inspection before opening to serve the public. One exemption does exist for restaurants to skip an initial inspection; if they have not changed the restaurant at all and if the property passed a satisfactory inspection within the last 120 days. The Café Havana on Cortez Road does not qualify for the exemption, though.
"They are not permitted to open and operate until a change of ownership application is approved and the opening inspection is conducted," said Chelsea Eagle, deputy director of communications for FDBPR.
The new Café Havana will serve the same menu as the original location, including Cuban sandwiches, pork chops, plantains and tamales.
Quintana and his brother, Jose, had the interior and the kitchen remodeled at the new location. They are working on transferring the beer and wine license from Jose's Real Cuban Food and Al Quintana said it will likely be another three to four weeks before they're able to serve drinks.
"We're looking forward to the new business in that area," Al Quintana said.
Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday.
This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cafe Havana on Cortez Road West open for business ."