Metro Roundup: Downtown Birmingham Cuban restaurant expands to 280

Luis Delgado wants to bring a Pepper Place-like atmosphere to the U.S 280 corridor. Along with opening his new restaurant, he has a vision to bring live music, car shows and more.

Delgado, owner and chef of Miami Fusion Cafe downtown, has been bringing the Caribbean flavors of his childhood to the Birmingham metro area for nine years and recently opened his second location of his Caribbean restaurant in the Greystone area.

A native of Caugas, Puerto Rico, Delgado moved to Miami when he was 9 years old and learned how to cook from his grandmother.

“I was the nosey one in the kitchen all the time,” Delgado said. “I found out cooking was my art and became passionate about cooking at an early age. By the time I was 7 years old, I was cooking full-blown meals.”

When he arrived in Alabama 15 years ago, he saw his culture wasn’t represented in the restaurant industry and wanted to change that.

“I started catering for church members, and people noticed the food was different and said I needed to open a restaurant,” Delgado said.

Deciding to turn his hobby into work, Delgado opened his first restaurant in a gas station in Alabaster 10 years ago with $750, a panini press and a camping stove.

After moving to Pelham then Hoover, the restaurant closed in 2015. Delgado said he became depressed and homeless during that period, even spending time at The Turning Point Foundation in Thorsby.

Soon after, he got a call from his father-in-law in Miami asking him if he wanted to open up the restaurant again, and Delgado said “only if I can give second chances.” So, he opened up Miami Fusion Cafe in downtown Birmingham.

He worked with organizations including The Foundry and The Lovelady Center to give opportunities to people who may not otherwise have been given a second chance.

Delgado loves helping others, and the restaurant will be doing its fifth angel tree this year. Last year, they helped 396 families in Alabama. After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Delgado received 37,000 pounds of food donations from people all over the state.

“We have used our restaurant the last four years more for ministry than anything else,” Delgado said. “Our motto is ‘Building a Family, Not a Business.’”

He used his food truck, El Conquistador, to feed first responders and the homeless, and he gave away almost 3,000 meals during a two-month period.

His Greystone location came along through a struggle. His downtown location was damaged during riots in June, and Delgado knew he had to pivot. After a GoFundMe was started for the downtown location, and knowing that so many people were working from home and business wouldn’t be the same, he decided to move east and open a location on 280.

Pleasantly surprised with the deal the landlord offered him, Delgado will have the ability to use parts of the upstairs area above the building for live music, outdoor seating and a private party area.

The new location will be like three restaurants in one. Each day it will serve an early breakfast — cafe con leche, pastries, French toast, omelets, grits and biscuits — before switching to lunch — Cuban sandwiches, pork plates and fusion — and finally to dinner — fillet, snapper and more.

For those who haven’t tried Cuban food, Delgado said he brings samples out to see what his customers like.

“It’s an opportunity for people who don’t know the culture to come try it,” he said. “If someone tells me they’ve never had it, they’ll get treated like they’re on a Caribbean island.”

Delgado has never sold alcohol at his restaurants but will do so at the new location. A mojito bar is located in the main dining area where drinks will be made and delivered to tables. He said it will be a “restaurant with a bar, not a bar with a restaurant.”

The downtown location will continue to be open and used for preparation for the food trucks, private events and more. Delgado hopes to have a tiki bar next door to it in time for the 2022 World Games and also wants to have the first international restaurant in the Birmingham airport.

“This is not a restaurant that you’ll come to where you feel like you don’t belong,” he said. “Always know it will be clean, with quality food and that our heart is behind everything.”