Tiny homes aren’t just for living in anymore -- the trend has spilled over into dining.
Cubanos ATL, which started slinging Cuban sandwiches and coffee in early August, is situated in a tiny house in a Sandy Springs shopping center parking lot. Cubanos owner Ozzy Llanes built the structure himself over two months, seeing it as a perfect compromise between a food truck and a traditional sit-down restaurant.
“I want to serve food, but I don’t want to be in the restaurant business,” said Llanes, who moved to Miami from his native Cuba when he was 13 and relocated to the Atlanta area 10 years ago. “I didn’t want to deal with waitstaff and all the craziness. I just want to have a good atmosphere and good food to go.”
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So he set to work, researching how to turn an old trailer with no floor into a coffeehouse-inspired tiny house that could hold a tiny kitchen and prep area.
“Me and YouTube are best friends,” said Llanes, who has a background in finance but has always been interested in food and cooking.
Though Cubanos ATL is on wheels, technically making it a food truck to comply with city regulations, Llanes said he doesn’t plan to move it from the Sandy Springs space where he said he’s already developed a following for the offerings from his concise menu.
The three sandwich options include El Miami, made with pork, ham and Swiss cheese; El Tampa, made with pork, ham, salami and Swiss cheese and El Pollo with sliced chicken, pickle, Swiss cheese and aioli. Llanes plans to add two more sandwiches in the future, including a Cuban steak sandwich and a vegetarian option.
Dessert comes in the form of one of 24 caramel flans Llanes’ mother makes daily, which he said sell out regularly.
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Sandwich bread is delivered from La Segunda Central Bakery, which has operated out of Florida since the early 1900s, while Llanes said he hopes to source its organic meat and produce from local farms including Milledgeville-based Comfort Farms.
“The menu is simple, so we focus on finding the perfect ingredients and bread,” he said.
Llanes is equally proud of the coffee program, which uses Miami-based Grand Havana Coffee, a business partially owned by pop star Gloria Estefan’s husband Emilio Estefan.
Drinks include lattes and cappuccinos as well as the more traditional colada, a Cuban espresso, and cortadito, with half espresso and half milk.
“We wanted the consistency of perfect coffee every time and grind fresh,” Llanes said. “We wanted to compete with the (coffee shops) here that we love.”
While Cubanos ATL is currently open for lunch, the hours and menu will expand on Aug. 22 to include breakfast, with options including Cuban toast and breakfast sandwiches.
The eatery is currently take-out only, though Llanes plans to add delivery and phone and online orders pre-orders in the near future. He points out adjustments to accommodate COVID-19 restaurant guidelines including a touchless payment system and paper menus to be filled out with a golf pencil that customers can then keep.
Hours are currently 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Starting Aug. 22, Cubanos will be open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
6450 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 404-889-8948, cubanosatl.com/
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