A mural featuring Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter Beny More decorates a wall inside the El Beny Cuban Restaurant at 5621 Summitview Ave. in Yakima. The restaurant is expected to open soon, owner Felix Rifa said.
Indoor and outdoor seating is available at El Beny Cuban Restaurant at 5621 Summitview Ave. in Yakima. The restaurant, expected to open soon, is adjacent to Inklings Bookshop in the Chalet Place shopping area.
Business Reporter
A mural featuring Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter Beny More decorates a wall inside the El Beny Cuban Restaurant at 5621 Summitview Ave. in Yakima. The restaurant is expected to open soon, owner Felix Rifa said.
A restaurant featuring Cuban coffee, pastries and a lunch/dinner menu is scheduled to open in a few weeks in Yakima’s Chalet Place shopping area.
El Beny Cuban Restaurant is coming to 5621 Summitview Ave., adjacent to Inklings Bookshop, owner Felix Rifa told the Yakima Herald-Republic. He hopes to open “in a couple weeks,” he said Thursday.
The restaurant is named after Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter Beny More, who was a popular musician known as the “King of Rhythm” in the 1950s, Rifa said.
“We’re trying to bring a little bit of the 1950s Cuba” to the restaurant,” Rifa said. “It’s what everyone remembers about Cuba, in a good way.”
Rifa, who owns Friendly Automotive locations in Yakima and Selah, said the menu will include authentic favorites such as a shredded beef Cuban stew (Ropa Vieja), a citrus-marinated grilled chicken dish (Pollo a la Plancha), a thin, pan-seared steak (Bistec de Palomilla) and a Cuban pork roast (Lechon Asado).
Indoor and outdoor seating is available at El Beny Cuban Restaurant at 5621 Summitview Ave. in Yakima. The restaurant, expected to open soon, is adjacent to Inklings Bookshop in the Chalet Place shopping area.
El Beny also will serve two of Cuba’s most famous items: a pressed Cuban sandwich with ham/roast pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on traditional Cuban bread, and a Cuban cortadito coffee drink.
The latter is an espresso shot (or two) of strong Cuban coffee cut with an equal amount of warm or steamed milk.
The restaurant includes interior and outdoor seating, with some tables painted with the Cuban flag. A mural of a Cuban scene featuring Beny More covers one wall of the dining area, painted by local artist Antonio Armas.
Rifa said when El Beny opens, hours will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Pastries and coffees will be available in the morning, with the full lunch menu available beginning at 11 a.m.
For more information and the official opening date, visit the El Beny Cuban Restaurant Facebook page.
The site previously housed various coffee shops and bakery operations, including a Starbucks, Caffeine Connection Cafe, For Heaven’s Cake bakery and, most recently, Jammin Java.
The Current highlights business news throughout Yakima County. Send your information to business reporter Joel Donofrio at jdonofrio@yakimaherald.com or call 509-759-7851.
Business Reporter
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