This Hispanic Heritage Month, Latino chefs and restaurant owners across Long Beach will be celebrated in the city’s first-ever Latino Restaurant Week.
Long Beach has a successful track record of recognizing its various cultural foods through events like Black Restaurant Week and Cambodian Restaurant Week. This celebration of Latino-owned restaurants is led by Roberto Carlos Lemus and his husband Jose, who together run the nonprofit Affluent Hispanic Philanthropies.
The nonprofit leads various social initiatives related to education, health, arts and culture by partnering with corporate donors that share similar goals. Part of their mission is to “promote high social impact projects and ultimately improve the lives of the communities we serve.”
Lemus and his husband had volunteered with the city’s other restaurant weeks and felt called to help highlight Latino-owned restaurants with their own week.
“It was just a conversation that was had that if no one else has done it then let’s do it ourselves,” Lemus said. “It was done because we’re passionate about our community.”
The first-ever Latino Restaurant Week will offer an array of cuisines — not just those hailing from Latin America and Spain (though there will be plenty of tapas, ceviche, agua frescas, empanadas, arepas, pozole and aguachile). The week is meant to highlight all types of Latino-owned restaurants whether they serve sushi, acai bowls, charcuterie or Italian cuisine.
“Latinos are in every kitchen pretty much,” Lemus said. “We’re not only highlighting Latino food, we’re highlighting Latino-owned restaurants and chefs, which no one has done before.”
For Telefèric Barcelona restaurant manager Santiago Juan Garcia, Latino Restaurant Week came at the perfect time. The restaurant located at the 2nd and PCH shopping center is set to host its grand opening on Sept. 13, complete with free food and drinks for the community and a live DJ.
Telefèric Barcelona honors Spanish culinary tradition by serving patrons with family-style platters, inviting customers to share their food and days with one another. It’s one of the main reasons Garcia wanted to work with Telefèric, he told the Signal Tribune.
“Coming from Spain we’re born with that [tradition]. When we go to a restaurant or a bar we always share a couple drinks and a couple tapas and we have a chat with our friends,” Garcia said. “Having this opportunity to come to the states and share our food culture with all the American people, it’s great and they love it when they come and see our concept. They just love it.”
While Telefèric is hosting its own grand opening party on Sept. 13, Lemus said they are planning multiple events throughout Latino Restaurant Week to activate the community and connect restaurants with one another. Some shops will be hosting pop-ups, while others will be pairing up for events to offer a new experience for even the most seasoned customers.
Restaurants included in Latino Restaurant Week are:
- Sushi Nikkei: A Michelin Guide California-recognized restaurant that offers a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian flavors.
- Telefèric Barcelona: A brand new restaurant that offers family-style platters of tapas, paellas and more that highlight Spanish culture.
- Fior Di Latte Cheese Shop: A charcuterie shop that offers artisanal cheeses and meats and hand-selected boxes and boards.
- La Chancla Mexican Grill: The flavors of Guadalajara, Jalisco brought out through tacos, handmade tortillas and other foods.
- Tarantella on 4th: These Mexican restaurant owners have spent over 30 years studying and perfecting their Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.
- Ruta 15 Ceviche Bar Mexican Kitchen: Classic Mexican foods such as ceviche, aguachile and empanadas can be paired with cocktails and cervezas.
- El Paisa Colombian Restaurant: Dishes such as bandeja paisa, arepas and ajiaco highlight traditional Colombian culture.
- Zooks Kitchen: This pop-up offers healthy and flavorful açaí bowls and smoothies.
- Panini’s Handcrafted Sandwiches: This Signal Hill restaurant offers a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups, freshly squeezed juices and more.
- Honduras Kitchen: The Larios family serves up Honduran dishes that are decades-old traditions in their Long Beach and Huntington Beach locations.
- Ubuntu Cafe: This cafe embraces a “field to fork” philosophy for its Brazilian cheese bread, burrata and beets, pea agnolotti and other diverse options.
- Chili Verde: From wet burritos to fajitas, classic Mexican dishes get the spotlight at this Wrigley Market fast food restaurant.
- Alli Kaphiy Cafe: Chef Karla Flores offers Peruvian-style sandwiches, gourmet coffee, and pastries made in-house daily.
There will be a kick-off event on Sept. 26, with more details to come soon, Lemus said.
Latino Restaurant Week will take place across Long Beach and Signal Hill from Sept. 29 through Oct. 5. Residents can get updates on the celebration at latinorestaurantweeklbc.com/ or on Instagram @affluenthispanic.
Restaurants have until Sept. 8 to register.
What’s missing from this lineup is Cuban food. Still waiting for a great Cuban restaurant to open in Long Beach!