Eric Castellanos built a culinary empire in Miami with only a dream and determination.
His parents, both Cuban immigrants to the United States, taught him that anything worth having was worth working for.
He watched his father go from “laying tile down on his hands and knees” to building his own successful business in Miami. The experience was formative to young Castellanos, teaching him that grit and determination were necessary ingredients to success.
He applied to the University of Miami because it was the top school in his eyes.
His favorite memory from his undergraduate years was proverbially unmasking the school mascot during his second year.
“I was walking across the green as Sebastian the Ibis exited the library when we both set eyes on each other and froze,” Castellanos explained. “I looked at him and he looked at me, then he charged me before tackling me right there, in front of everybody! You can just imagine the scene: us wrestling in the middle of the grass, legs and webbed feet in the air. I realized then that it was my good friend inside the Sebastian suit because no one else would have behaved like that besides him.”
He spent the rest of his college years guarding Sebastian’s secret and shuffling between school and work in a family friend’s real estate office.
When one of the owners of the beloved Miami institution, Latin Café 2000, passed away, Castellanos stepped in to help.
“I would close the store late at night, then open it in the early mornings—I took it as an opportunity to learn every aspect of the business, from the kitchen to the front of the house.”
By 2000, he was the director of operations for Latin Café 2000 and its three locations across Miami. He was a senior at the College of Engineering at the time.
“It was a lot of work. I was constantly going back and forth between school and work, but I eventually graduated and continued working,” he said.
A few years later, he left Café 2000 to open two franchise locations of Chick-N-Grill, one of which was located directly across from the University of Miami. He decided to pursue his M.B.A. during this time.
“I would work all day in the restaurants, go to the University of Miami at night, and come back to the restaurant to lock up. On Saturdays, I’d start even earlier, opening the store, cooking the chicken with my team, going to class, then coming back to the restaurant. It was a lot of work, but that period taught me so much.”
Eventually, he sold Chick-N-Grill and returned to Latin Café 2000—this time as owner—expanding operations to Brickell.
By 2018, Castellanos started dabbling in cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a type of unique digital identifier that represents a digital artwork. He joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), an exclusive community where membership is marked by possession of one of 10,000 unique cartoon-style ape NFTs. Surrounded by forward-thinking creatives and immersed in a culture of innovation, Castellanos found the inspiration for his latest venture, Bored Cuban.
Bored Cuban reimagines classic Cuban dishes for modern audiences with a grab-and-go menu that boasts Cuban pop tarts filled with guava and cheese and topped with a condensed milk frosting, ropa vieja (Cuban shredded beef) empanadas, and a ‘cro-donut’ (croissant-doughnut), a nostalgic nod to Cuban rosquitas, reimagined with powdered sugar and flair.
Castellanos’ BAYC ape, Manolo—dressed in a Cuban guayabera and puffing on a cigar—became the restaurant’s mascot. Bored Cuban is located next to Latin Café 2000, just south of Miami International Airport.
“I developed the concept for Bored Cuban from scratch: Cuban food with a modern twist inside an artsy space covered in graffiti by local artists,” Castellanos said.
He hopes his food can introduce new and familiar audiences to a nostalgic taste of Cuba, and serve as a legacy project for his children.
“I’m trying to teach my children that if you want something, you have to go out and hustle to get it. My children may not face the same struggles that my parents did, but I want to inspire them to chase their passions with the same determination and grit that my parents showed me,” he explained.
And his children—16-year-old Alessandra and 14-year-old Nico—are taking those lessons to heart. They have been instrumental to the creation of Bored Cuban, from refining its menu to managing the marketing and branding.
Castellanos plans to return to the University with his wife Kali—who attended the University of Miami’s Honors Program in Medicine—and their children in tow to show his family the place where he learned to turn his dreams into reality.
“The University of Miami was huge for me, and I think of it as my launchpad to success,” he said. “My advice? Don’t wait for the ‘perfect time’ to start something because there is no such thing. Bet on yourself, work hard, and apply what you learn, and success will follow.”
