You have until this Saturday, Sept. 27, to grab one last medianoche at the , as chef Corinna Mozo announced that after more than a decade, she will be closing the restaurant.
“Roncy was the flagship and it was my baby, and I think that鈥檚 the location you can find me at the most,” said Mozo. “I really loved that location, so closing it is a big deal.”
Mozo cites the need to rest as the reason for the closure.
“I’ve been working full time in the restaurant business since I was 21, so I’ve been doing this for 30-something years, so I need a bit of a break,” she says. “It’s a lot of work to manage the people, make sure the customers are treated well, and make sure the food is good.”
The last day of lunch and dinner service will be this Saturday. The restaurant will be open one last time on Oct. 1 for people to drop by for a final goodbye. Mozo says she does not know what will happen with the space once she’s gone.
While two other La Cubana outposts on the west end remain open 鈥 one at 92 Ossington Ave. and another in the Wellington Market Food Hall at 486 Front St. W. 鈥 the Roncesvalles location at 392 Roncesvalles Ave. marked a turning point for the city’s dining scene.
The original location of La Cubana (392 Roncesvalles Ave.) will close its doors for good after Sept. 27.
Nick Lachance 海角社区官网StarThe original La Cubana opened amidst the city’s post-recession dining scene. Mozo said at the time, diners were moving away from the appetizer-main-dessert-and-bottle-of-wine format and gravitating toward quick bites and snacks, while craft cocktails were starting to emerge. This was during the late 2000s/early 2010s, when Mozo was running her French bistro, Delux (where the Ossington location of La Cubana now is), and saw this as an opportunity to launch a concept she鈥檇 been thinking about for a while.
“I always had this Cuban idea in my mind because my grandfather had a diner in Cuba and I grew up on Cuban food. There were always glimpses of that at my French restaurants, but I thought this diner concept could work right now. That’s when I found the place on Roncesvalles, so I opened La Cubana in 2013.”
The brightly lit restaurant, with seafoam green tiled walls and auburn booths designed by Mozo’s brother, Pablo, stood out among the sea of 30-seat, dimly lit restos clad in reclaimed wood that proliferated emerging restaurant strips like Parkdale and Ossington at the time. Cuban music blared while plates of guava-glazed short ribs and Cubano sandwiches rolled out of the kitchen. Being in the space was an energy boost 鈥 a place to split a few small plates, sip Mojitos, then head off to the next bar.
“The first few days we opened, (bar and music venue) was still across the street so there was live music from them and Cuban music spilling out in our place, it was just magical,” she says.
While the remaining two La Cubana locations in the city are run by Mozo’s brother, Mozo herself can be found in Prince Edward County at the , serving the same La Cubana menu out of a shipping container setup on a seasonal schedule. “It鈥檚 just a festive atmosphere and it reignites my passion because I’m doing something new, and it鈥檚 seasonal so it gives me time to relax and hibernate.”
Despite La Cubana still existing in the city, Mozo says she understands why people are still mourning the Roncesvalles location.
Mozo says the Roncesvalles location held a special place in the community, where she saw kids grow up and witnessed many first dates. The emotional outpouring over the closure has been both touching and a bit surprising, as she thought people might be ready for something new after so many years. But she says 海角社区官网clearly cares about its beloved neighbourhood spots. 鈥淚t’s not like it’s closing because the landlord raised the rent or that it’s not popular,” she says. “I just need rest. It’s good to close down when people still love the place.鈥
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