Latin Soul, a new Staunton restaurant, set to open Saturday

Patrick Hite, Staunton News Leader
·2 min read
Jeff Coffey and Bessy Peralta are opening Latin Soul at 300 Church Street Jan. 6.
Jeff Coffey and Bessy Peralta are opening Latin Soul at 300 Church Street Jan. 6.

STAUNTON — The former home of Table 44 and Mrs. Liptrap's will see life again as a restaurant when Latin Soul opens Saturday, Jan. 6. Mrs. Liptrap's closed in September after being open just six months.

Bessy Peralta has worked in the restaurant industry since arriving in the United States from El Salvador in 2002. She has worked all levels of restaurants, from bussing tables to kitchen staff to serving to management. She and her fiance, Jeff Coffey, have been looking for an opportunity to open their own restaurant and decided this was the chance. Coffey is an Army veteran and comes from a family tradition of military service.

"I love everything," she said. "I love to talk to the people and I love to be in the kitchen too."

The name Latin Soul comes from a combination of her roots in Central America and Coffey's African-American heritage.

Among the menu items are shrimp and grits, pupusas, taquitos Hondrenos, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, carne asada, burgers, Torta Mexicana, chicken strips, and Mexican street tacos. They also plan to serve breakfast, including eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, grits, and various omelets. There are also salads, sides and desserts.

"We have a little bit of everything" Peralta said. "So that everybody who comes they can find something to eat in our place."

They will be open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven days a week to start. Peralta said she wants to see how business is and what days are slow before setting permanent hours, but will eventually scale back from seven days a week to include at least one day off. Once they have their ABC license, hours may change also. Peralta said they would like to have some special events like live music and karaoke eventually.

"We are just excited," Peralta said. "Since I moved to Virginia I have felt really welcome in Staunton. I am so happy to be here and I have a great feeling about this."

— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton restaurant Latin Soul opening Saturday at former Table 44 location