A restaurant known for paying tribute to Che Guevara and Fidel Castro chose an unwise expansion location: Miami
If your restaurant’s identity is built on celebrating the work of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, you might want to think twice about opening a new location in Miami, the U.S. city with the largest Cuban expat population. Well, New York-based Cafe Habana did just that, announcing the launch of a downtown Miami location this spring. “Inspired by a storied Mexico City hangout, where legend has it Che Guevara and Fidel Castro plotted the Cuban Revolution,” Cafe Habana’s website description read up until last week, when it was conveniently removed after the opening announcement. The Miami Herald reports that anti-Castro members of Miami’s Cuban community responded to the restaurant’s origin story with much dismay. Local social media personality Josue Alvarez addressed Sean Meenan, the restaurant’s founder, saying in a video posted to Instagram, “Here in Miami, there’s two things we don’t accept: Communism and gringos making croquetas.”—Alex Hinton