A popular Cuban food truck is making its brick-and-mortar debut this weekend in Decatur.
Buena Gente Cuban Bakery will be open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at 1365 Clairmont Road in the space previously occupied by health food eatery Nectar.
It will join several other food and beverage destinations in a complex that also includes The Po’Boy Shoppe, Ms. Icey’s Kitchen and Bar and Community Q.
Established as a food truck in 2016 by Manny Rodriguez and Stacie Antich, Buena Gente, which means “good people”, specializes in traditional Cuban offerings including baked pastelitos, empanadas and croquetas; Cuban sandwiches including the Cubano and the Medianoche; desserts including flan and arroz con leche; Cuban coffee drinks and sodas.
“It is a celebration of our culture and a mission to preserve the flavors we grew up on,” according to the restaurant’s website.
Antich said the brick-and-mortar’s larger space allowed for an expanded menu, including several more sandwiches including the vegan El Viandero wrap made with grilled peppers and onions, sweet plantains, black beans and vegan cilantro aioli.
“The expanded sandwich list is what you might find walking into a typical Cuban bakery or cafe,” she said. “The food truck was limited in what we could provide. Now we’re able to expand everything across the board.”
Tropical milkshakes known as batidos, in flavors including mango, frutabomba (papaya) and trigo (puffed wheat) are another new menu highlight.
The brick-and-mortar opening marks a major milestone for Antich and Rodriguez, who both grew up in Miami and come from Cuban backgrounds. In the works since late 2019, the restaurant was on track to open in the spring before COVID-19 hit, and Antich said there was a question of whether they would be able to move forward with the opening.
She said Buena Gente was going to have a primarily takeout business model even before the pandemic hit, which made for an easier transition. Very limited seating is available outside.
Antich said the food truck is retired for now, though they’ll consider putting it back into rotation next year.
Buena Gente will be open from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. The restaurant will offer in-store pickup for now, with online pre-ordering available in the next few weeks.
Scroll down to see the full menu for Buena Gente:
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