Sophie's Cuban

True to their restaurateur roots in Lima Peru, the Luna family always dreamed of having their own restaurant in their new home in New York City. They struggled and saved for years and finally in November 1996 they started construction and June 1997 opened the first Sophie’s on Greenwich Street near the World Trade Center.

Their business philosophy was the idea that fresh, tasty food in good portions served in a local neighborhood atmosphere by friendly people would help them ...more True to their restaurateur roots in Lima Peru, the Luna family always dreamed of having their own restaurant in their new home in New York City. They struggled and saved for years and finally in November 1996 they started construction and June 1997 opened the first Sophie’s on Greenwich Street near the World Trade Center.

Their business philosophy was the idea that fresh, tasty food in good portions served in a local neighborhood atmosphere by friendly people would help them to realize the American Dream.

Sophie's was inspired by a Cuban restaurant the family visited years earlier. They had been selling Peruvian food from carts at the soccer fields in New York to earn the money to invest and thought Cuban food might be a better idea for the City. They researched everything about Cuba, its culture, and its food. Then hired Master Cuban Chef Eduardo Morgado to help them put it all together.

It was so busy that they opened a larger restaurant nearby. That was just as busy and by 2001 they had four Sophie's Cuban Cuisine® Restaurants open. 911 claimed the first two and a landlord bought out another one but they kept working hard and there are now nine Sophie's Cuban Cuisine® restaurants in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and planning is underway in the NY Metro area to continue expanding.