Ruben Perez’s father was a chef from Cuba, and he was a good one. The father raised the son with the hope the second-generation Cuban-American would become a lawyer or a doctor, or “anything where I’d wear a coat and tie every day,” said Perez.
But when he was 22 and attending university in Central Florida, Perez said he saw the huge influx of Hispanics in the region. “So I said to my father, ‘Pop, we need to do a really cool Latin or Cuban restaurant in town,’” Perez said.
And he wanted to drop out of college to do it.
“Obviously he wanted to kill me,” Perez said. “Because that wasn’t what I was supposed to do, right? I was supposed to get a job and work with a coat and tie. That was [my father’s] vision of success.”
Ultimately, Perez’ father came around and supported his son, helping open the family’s first restaurant, Don Pepe’s, which Perez named for his grandfather.
That was 1989 near Orlando. Over the next 20 years, Perez built and added onto Don Pepe’s, which was a full-service concept, later adding in music and a full bar. Then Perez added more businesses: He launched a coffee operation, and opened licensed restaurants in airports with brands like Chick-fil-A and Hard Rock Cafe. He opened a bakery.
But when the economic crash of 2008 hit, Perez started to think about “tightening the box,” he said. “I thought, let’s do a fast-casual version of what I’ve done, from the Cuban restaurant, to the bakery to the coffee shop. And that’s how Zaza was born in 2013.”
Perez is now focused on building Zaza Cuban Comfort Food, a 10-unit regional chain in Central Florida with another six or seven expected to open in the next 18 months or so.
Zaza’s Cuban roots are clear. The menu includes a classic Cubano sandwich with roasted pork, shaved ham, pickles and mustard on pressed bread, for example, as well as dishes like black bean soup (frijoles negros), empanadas, and tostones.
A classic Ropa Vieja at Zaza. | Photo courtesy of Zaza Cuban Comfort Food.
But it’s an all-day menu designed to appeal more broadly, with made-to-order breakfast plates and sandwiches, pastries and a deep coffee program. On the coffee side, there is the more classic Café con Leche, for example, alongside cold drinks (“Zaza Frios”) like the Galleta Dulce, an iced cold brew with cookie syrup, white chocolate mocha, marshmallow syrup, milk and cold foam, with a drizzle of caramel and a dash of cinnamon.
Perez is building the brand not so much as a Cuban restaurant, but as a neighborhood diner—albeit one with Cuban food and great coffee.
He points to Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schultz, who was inspired by the coffee shops of Italy when he built that coffeehouse brand as a third-place gathering spot. Perez also is inspired by the Los Angeles chain Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, also developed by a Cuban family, which is one of the highest volume concepts in Southern California.
“I love a diner,” said Perez. “And I love really good coffee. I did it for selfish reasons.”
Perez is also building Zaza’s as a concept designed to scale, one neighborhood at a time, he said.
The operation includes a coffee roasting facility, as well as a central kitchen, where dishes like the black bean soup, pastries and other items can be made and distributed to the restaurants.
Units range in size from about 1,500- to 2,200-square feet. The most recent unit to open, in Casselberry, Florida, has a drive-thru pick up window for digital orders, which Perez would like to do more of, if real estate allows.
Zaza's newest unit in Casselberry, Florida, has a drive-thru pick-up window. | Photo courtesy of Zaza.
Zaza is getting ready for its next phase of growth.
Perez brought in Luis Fernandez, the former COO of Yum Brand’s operations in Spain and Portugal, as a consultant. In time, Fernandez may have a bigger role, Perez added. But for now the focus is on dominating in Central Florida with Zaza and, then moving to new markets.
Perez is not a huge fan of the idea of franchising, at least not at this point. But he said, “Never say never.”
He is reluctant to think about employees being anything other than “familia,” which is what they call Zaza’s team members, who get benefits like health care, retirement plans and profit sharing. “It’s about keeping the culture.”
Perez said he’s following through on the same dream he had as a 22-year-old college student.
“When I was 22, my dream—my passion— was I wanted to build brand that was my entrepreneurial brand,” he said. “But everybody does, right? Everybody’s got to wrestle with that. They’d open 100 of them, but it’s easier said than done.”
Zaza needed “a Luis [Fernandez], that person to help make sure its systems and processes are clean,” said Perez. “I don’t have that skill set.”
He said Zaza taps into the trends of today’s consumer.
It hits five dayparts (breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack and dinner). Beverages (coffees) are a core of the menu. There are multiple vertically integrated revenue streams, including catering. (Pharmaceutical reps buy a ton of fresh pastries and treats to bring to doctors’ offices, Perez said.)
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Perez declined to reveal sales numbers, but he said sales per square foot are higher than a Chipotle and other fast-casual brands.
“Zaza feels very duplicatable. It’s very, very well thought out,” said Perez. “I see opportunities, but I’m getting the young guns involved because I’m slowing down.”