Cuban restaurant set to spice up former location of Sake Bomb Bistro
WORCESTER — When Havana Nights Restaurant & Lounge opens its doors at 258 Park Ave., city foodies will trade Asian cuisine for Cuban flavor on the tables where Sake Bomb Bistro previously did business for eight years.
Set to open sometime in May, the new restaurant will feature authentic Cuban cuisine, according to Julio Roque, owner and manager of the restaurant.
Roque, 47, was approved Thursday by the city License Commission for a transfer of an all-alcohol license from Kenichi Two 168, Inc., the entity that managed Sake Bomb.
The commission also approved applications for a common victualer license and indoor entertainment licenses for TV, radio, dancing by patrons, dancing by entertainers, recorded music and live music.
Havana Nights Restaurant & Lounge is set to move in after more than a month since Sake Bomb Bistro closed its doors Feb. 14.
Sake Bomb owner Kenny Huang cited issues with staffing with "a good chef" to lead the kitchen, and also higher expenses due to inflation and business downturns after the pandemic.
Huang also owns with his family the Asian cuisine restaurants Kenichi Asian Bistro on Shrewsbury Street and Wan Wang Restaurant on Park Avenue.
Same floor plan
When Roque, who was born, raised and lives in Worcester, fires up the kitchen at the location once again, the hours will be from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
At the License Commission meeting, the lawyer representing Roque said the 2,100-square-foot establishment will hold the same floor plan as the previous tenants with a seating capacity of 60 people.
Roque, who has a background in mortgage lending and real estate and comes from a family of Cuban immigrants, will co-own the restaurant with his wife, Maiden.
He got the idea of owning a Cuban restaurant after tasting food at a friendly gathering in Miami with dishes prepared by a chef acquaintance.
"Last year was a pretty difficult year for me emotionally because I lost my mother last March," said Roque. "When I tasted (the chef's) food, it reminded me of my mother's cooking."
Roque said it was right then the idea of bringing a Cuban restaurant to Worcester hit him, followed by an offer to give the job of leading the kitchen to the chef.
Lázaro Curbelo Novelo, who is set to be Havana Night's chef when it opens, will bring over 20 years of culinary experience from his home in Havana, said Roque.
Roque said some of the dishes featured on the menu will be ropa vieja (a Cuban braised beef dish), picadillo (a dish commonly made with ground beef and tomato sauce), and guava bread pudding, among others.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Havana Nights Restaurant set to open at former Sake Bomb on Park Ave.
