El Azucarero brings Puerto Rican flavor and history
Haines City isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Central Florida, much less when looking for Puerto Rican restaurants typically located in Orlando, Kissimmee, and Poinciana.
El Azucarero Restaurant is helping to change that by bringing mofongo, trifongo, tostones and combos of rice, beans with carne frita (fried pork chunks) as one of the few sit-down restaurants in the region.
It would be easy to miss the establishment located on 10th Street, across from Bank of America, in downtown Haines City. Photos of sorullitos, empanadillas, alcapurrias and other menu offerings, printed on the windows mark the spot.
Beyond the small facade is a detailed tribute to Yabucoa, a municipality on the southeast side of Puerto Rico, known as ground zero to Hurricane María.
“El Azucarero is a Puerto Rican restaurant based in my town of Yabucoa. I named it after the sugar mill because in my town there was a sugar mill that provided jobs for many people,” said Walberto Cintrón Rodríguez, el Azucarero Restaurant owner.
A mural of Central Roig sugar mill serves as the dining room background and a window to “The City of Sugar” lush valley. Historical photos and sugar cane pods frame parts of the wall, adding context to the surrounding dining booths.
“My grandfather was a chef for many years. He traveled to the fields to work for the factory. He was not a factory worker. He was the factory’s chef,” recalled Cintrón Rodríguez.
The menu was developed unknowingly during Cintrón Rodríguez’s childhood while helping his grandfather feed sugar mill workers.
It includes pernil (slow roasted marinated pork leg or shoulder), morcilla (blood sausage), cakes, tembleque (coconut pudding), and typical sweets from Puerto Rico, said Cintrón Rodríguez.
His wife, Natasha Caraballo, starts cooking the Puerto Rican staples at 8 a.m.
During El Sentinel Orlando’s visit to the facility, customers knocked on the door prior to the restaurant opening, scheduled for 11 a.m., in search of favorites such as arroz con gandules, trifongo, tembleque and flan, among others.
El Azucarero is planting a Puerto Rican flag in an area with little commercial development, some Hispanic residential and business presence, but most of Mexican origin.
Boricua ‘growing with the people’ of Haines City
Haines City is among the top 10 lowest-rent cities in Florida, according to Rent.com. The largely rural area in Polk County, 45 minutes from Orlando, is attracting those looking for more affordable residences and business lots compared to the greater Orlando area. The opportunity to “grow with the people” motivated the opening of the premises in August 2019, as Cintrón Rodríguez’s third business venture.
“I decided to open it in Haines City because I wanted a change. I was in Kissimmee. I was in Orlando and I told my wife we’re going to do something and I looked up [opportunities] here,” he said. “I have seen many merchants that started small in Kissimmee. When Kissimmee was nothing and I saw how they grew with the people.”
In the first few months, it seemed like that goal would come true. The novelty of a Puerto Rican menu in a restaurant with an interior dining room, Latin music, and a pleasant atmosphere attracted a clientele, Cintrón Rodríguez said.
’I’m a fighter and I didn’t quit’ after COVID-19
El Azucarero Restaurant became a Puerto Rican oasis with Latin music, Medalla beer, and artisanal sangria. Its popularity in downtown Haines City drew customers “until March, when everything was shut down,” recalled Cintrón Rodríguez.
The COVID-19 pandemic became the ultimate homage to their hometown of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, the entry point of Hurricane María.
Just as their Yabucoeño brothers rose after the worst hurricane in the last century, the couple is standing firm amid the worst pandemic in modern times.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a fighter and I didn’t quit,” said Cintrón Rodríguez.
The couple made changes to operate safely. Masks, take-out orders, tables outside, and Puerto Rican food with a side of good customer service has kept them afloat, he added.
“If your dream is to have a business and move forward, do not quit. ... You have to move forward. We have to keep fighting,” concluded the businessman.
On Feb. 13, they will celebrate Valentine’s Day with Mariachi and DJ music “but everyone has to come with their mask so that everyone feels comfortable,” added Cintrón Rodríguez.