Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar to Open in Puerto Rico

Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar is expanding into new markets in the new year, including a first-time foray outside the mainland U.S.—to Puerto Rico.

Cuba Libre, an affiliate of GuestCounts Hospitality LLC, is set to break ground in San Juan on Jan. 2020. The 10,000-square-foot restaurant located in Plaza Las Américas mall is expected to deliver millions of dollars to the economy and create more than 200 new restaurant and construction jobs. The company is investing $8.6 million in its new locale.

Cuba Libre’s newest location will be a free-standing building built from the ground up at the main entrance to Plaza Las Américas. With construction beginning in the first quarter of 2020, the sixth Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar location is expected to open in Jan. 2021. Cuba Libre San Juan will feature soaring ceilings, dramatic interior and exterior designs, a signature wood-burning Latin grill and chef’s counter and the capacity to seat 290 guests.

The culinary program at Cuba Libre San Juan will be led by the vision of two-time James Beard award-winning chef-partner Guillermo Pernot, who is widely credited for introducing “Nuevo Latino” cuisine to the Northeast United States.

The restaurant provides guests with a culinary passport to Cuba’s intriguing flavors and culture. The menu’s tantalizing tastes reflect Cuba’s culinary traditions, as well as the emerging modern cuisine that Pernot has experienced during his continuing travels to Cuba. The restaurant’s name, which translates to “Free Cuba,” channels hope for the future of the island nation, the company said.

“I love leading Cuba Libre’s expansion and enhancing the restaurant’s menus in innovative ways as Cuban cuisine continues to develop,” Pernot said. “I am able to use my experience and culinary skills to mentor young chefs, manage multiple outlets and foster the future growth of the Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar concept.”

The menu will feature such favorites as Mama Amelia’s empanadas, black bean soup, “arroz con pollo” (rice with chicken), ropa vieja and Cuban-style skirt steak.

Argentinian by birth, in 2010, Pernot embarked on a mission to discover how Cuban cuisine had evolved. During numerous visits to Cuba, Pernot forged relationships with the premier local chefs in Havana. He spent countless days cooking and dining with them in their restaurants, homes and farms.

In Jan. 2012, chef Pernot and Cuba Libre launched a culinary exchange series named Pop-Up Paladares, at which the top chefs of Havana are invited to cook in Cuba Libre’s kitchens for special guest chef dinners. In return, chef Pernot invites Cuba Libre’s guests to join him on a series of custom cultural and culinary tours of the island nation’s capital, featuring dinners at these chefs’ restaurants. The inaugural trips, open to the public, began on April 2012 and continue on a bi-annual basis.

Believing in the Island of Enchantment

The Philadelphia-based restaurant brand said it hopes to play a role in helping to rebuild the island post-Hurricane Maria, “one empanada at a time.”

According to Barry Gutin, principal and co-founder of GuestCounts Hospitality, lease negotiations for the San Juan restaurant were nearly complete when the massive storm hit on Sept. 2017. “After the hurricane, we hired a number of residents displaced by the conditions on the island. Through our efforts to raise funds for those in need, we learned about the resilience, spirit and determination of Puerto Rico residents, as they supported each other during the aftermath of the storm.

We decided to invest in post-Maria Puerto Rico to help in the commonwealth’s economic recovery and provide opportunities for our employees from Puerto Rico who hope to move back to the island, as well as restaurant workers still there. We believe in the future of the Island of Enchantment and we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” he added.

“The addition of Cuba Libre to Plaza Las Américas tenant’s roster, expands our food and entertainment offerings as well as supports the revitalization of the local economy with a significant investment and new jobs,” said Jaime Luis Fonalledas, executive vice president of Plaza Las Américas.

Cuba Libre San Juan will be the sixth location for the brand, which first opened in Philadelphia in 2000, followed by Atlantic City in 2004, Orlando in 2008, Washington, D.C. in 2010 and will open in Fort Lauderdale in the summer of 2020.

The company said it is also exploring opportunities in Tampa, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Las Vegas and Atlanta.