BLACK MOUNTAIN – For owner Betty Sperry, Cousins Cuban Cafe is all about family.
“This restaurant, to me, has been such a blessing because, first of all, it’s a family restaurant that symbolizes family to me,” Sperry said. “I’ve had my employees, the majority of them, from the beginning, so even they become family. And also the customers become family.”
Sperry opened the restaurant in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, which she described as “an interesting start.”
Because Cousins Cuban Cafe opened during the pandemic, Sperry said the extra safety protocols restaurants were required to follow did not impact the restaurant too much because that was the only way they knew how to operate. She called the restaurant “fortunate” in this way as well as the fact that Cousins Cuban Cafe was busy from the start.
“We were fortunate to be busy because I think the fact that it was a new place, a different cuisine to offer,” Sperry said. “We had renovated everything so everything was brand spanking new so people felt comfortable and safe coming in. We were very fortunate that we still did well considering the time.”
In addition to traditional Cuban cuisine, Sperry said the restaurant offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options, things that are not common in the cuisine. Sperry said she likes to “experiment” with the different ingredients and flavors to get that authentic Cuban taste.
Nearly four years after opening in the pandemic, Cousins Cuban Cafe was faced with another challenge — Tropical Storm Helene. Because the restaurant was spared from flooding, Sperry said she is “fortunate” in that aspect, too.
“We didn’t get any flooding,” Sperry said. “We lost power, water like everybody else. The biggest impact, like everybody else, is losing three weeks of business in one of our busiest months in October, yet at the same time knowing how fortunate we were that we still had a structure and we knew we were going to be able to reopen.”
Sperry said she reopened Cousins Cuban Cafe as soon as the health inspector gave her the go-ahead, but while she waited for that she was donating coffee, food and merchandise to the community.
Sperry grew up the child of Cuban immigrants in Miami and owned a restaurant there. After years of vacationing in North Carolina, she made the move to the area. Her cousins also made the move and opened the Dancing Dragonfly shop in Black Mountain, with Sperry opening Cousins Cuban Cafe in the adjacent building.
But after a cousin moved back to Florida, closing the Dancing Dragonfly, Cousins Cuban Cafe moved into the space earlier this year, expanding the dining room. Seating options now include the original and expanded dining room and patio seating in the back of the restaurant.
“It’s really helped,” Sperry said. “I feel like it’s brought a lot of new business because we were very tight in the other place and it’s kind of loud. I think people know now that we have the extra space, so I see a lot of new faces coming.”
Sperry said the Black Mountain community has always been welcoming to her and Cousins Cuban Cafe, and she hopes to be able to pass the restaurant on and have it continue to be a fixture in the town.
“I love that I’m in this community,” Sperry said. “I love that I get to share my Cuban culture and food with those that come in. I want everybody to come in and not just eat, but I want them to feel everything they’re eating.”
Cousins Cuban Cafe is located at 108 Broadway Ave. in Black Mountain and is open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. every day except Wednesday.
Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
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