MILWAUKEE — It’s the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, and Cubanitas is celebrating something that many other resturants can’t — a 20th anniversary.
Nestled smack dab in the middle of Milwaukee St. between Wisconsin & Mason is an orange store front that you can’t miss. It’s Cubanitas! Run by Marta Bianchini, it’s a lovely restaurant that serves traditional Cuban food. This week marks an important milestone anniversary for Cubanitas, which has now been in business for 20 years.
“Back in 1994, my husband basically dragged me into the restaurant business with his Italian restaurant, Osteria del Mondo,” Bianchini said. “He’s Italian, I’m Cuban-American, and it only made sense to just open up a Cuban restaurant.”
In 2003, the city of Milwaukee had limited options for traditional, home-cooked Hispanic food. They found lightning in a bottle, drawing respect and business from people across the area. However, Bianchini told WTMJ that she misses home cooking.
“You know, every time I would go back home to New Jersey or Miami, I would be like, ‘okay, I need my Cuban fix,’ and it just made sense for us to explore that concept,” she explained. “We opened up in September 17th of 2003.”
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It was so successful that in 2017, Cubanitas opened another location at Drexel Town Square in Oak Creek with both locations growing increasingly successful over time.
Hispanic Heritage Month wasn’t nearly as prevalent in those days, but Marta says things have changed.
“A lot of the corporate companies are acknowledging it, so they’re doing, you know, maybe catering in from different local restaurants? And that, I know, has definitely increased,” Bianchini said. “I don’t think 20 years ago we were even paying attention or had that on the radar. Now, it really is on the radar of a lot of people, especially here in Milwaukee.”
Want to know what it’s like to party like you’re Cuban? Head downtown to Milwaukee St. for a great snapshot of what the culture is all about.
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