Guajiro
Why Cuban Comfort Food?
Since he was seven years old, Chris has always wanted to open a Cuban Restaurant. A second generation Cuban-American, he spent his childhood listening to his Grandmother’s stories about growing up on her father’s farm. Chris and “Nana” have cooked countless everyday authentic Cuban meals together. Recipes passed down by aunts and grandmothers with “El toque” de Nana (Nana’s special touch). While in high school, Chris worked at a local cuban restaurant after school and in the summers. Now, after graduating from FSU with a public administration and entrepreneurship degree, he has the tools he needs to make his dream come true.
Why Asheville?
Chris has been spending summers and holidays in Asheville for over 23 years with his family. In that time he and his family have made a home here. His parents are active members in the community and they are the proud owners The Asheville Cotton Mill in The River Arts District. Chris strives to make Guajiro the best Cuban restaurant in Asheville, the top-rated Cuban food near the Biltmore Estate and Downtown Asheville.
Why Guajiro?
A Guajiro /gwa’hero/ is a Cuban farmer, Cuban rural person, or Cuban agricultural worker. We chose the name Guajiro to honor Chris’ great-grandfather Serafin Morejón and his grandmother Rosa Montenegro. Serafin was a guajiro, born and raised in La Puntilla, a farm area owned and passed down by generations of family members. La Puntilla was in La Provincia Las Villas (now Cienfugos), an area very similar to the Everglades in Florida. He grew sugarcane, which he sold to the sugar mills. The mill would make sugar from the sugarcane juice and paper from the dried out crop that was left over. He also grew mango, pineapples, guanabana, guayaba, limes, and corn. They had cows for milk, and ox to pull the sugarcane carts. They also had chickens, roosters, and turkeys. Big family dinners were a staple on Serafin’s farm, and a tradition that Nana carries on to this day. Chris brings that same GUAJIRO tradition to Asheville.