A top pick in Chicago: 90 Miles Cuban Cafe

Leaving your country to follow your dreams certainly involves risks. But as baseball players all across Latin America continue to leave their country to pursue the big stage, it can be disheartening to leave behind your homeland. It can be a struggle to find places where your culture can still remain prosperous.

For Cuban immigrants, 90 Miles Cuban Cafe is a place where they can get a taste of home and an authentic sense of it as well.

Inspiration Abroad

90 Miles founder and owner Alberto González was in the mortgage business in the mid-2000s when he began to see the industry’s decline. On vacation with his wife in Spain celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary, he stumbled upon inspiration at a small restaurant that would help him navigate out of a seemingly failing industry, and unwittingly bond him with his roots and Chicago’s Cuban baseball community.

“I walked into a small little place [in Spain] and the place was freakin’ busy,” he said. “All they sold was shrimp and beer, and I thought ‘Man, this place is cool.’”

González noticed the place was missing the cultural aspect.

“They missed the artist part of it.” he said.

That gave him the inspiration to infuse Cuban culture into every corner of 90 Miles, which he designed with his friend, Colombian painter Alejandro Arangowhich.

“When people walk in they feel transported to Cuba,” he said. “And that was the key. It’s different, it has a lot of heart. 90 Miles is a canvas.”

Home-cooking Away from Home

For Latino White Sox players, 90 Miles Cuban Cafe has certainly been openly appreciated.

“I order a lot of food from there,” Sox Cuban first baseman José Abreu said. “I like the food. It’s authentic and I know the owner and all the people from there. They’re very nice people. They take care of me. I like what it’s all about.”

Abreu’s family has a relationship with González’s family that is unique to find in another country — their relocated families lived just blocks away from each other in Miami.

“Our families live nearby even though I haven’t met his family,” Abreu said. “But my father met with his family. From there, the relationship started off.”

Featured Image: Cat Garcia

Inset Images: Cat Garcia