Business & Tech

Taste of Cuba Comes to The Market Off Main

Juan De Sosa is bringing his popular style of Cuban food to the well-known New Port Richey establishment.

Juan De Sosa wants the taste of Cuba he brought to New Port Richey to live on. 

That's why he brought his recipes for the popular Cuban food he used to sell in town to The Market off Main, just a bit away from where he used to do business. The market is now selling black beans and rice, Cuban sandwiches and other offerings, and it’s looking to add more of De Sosa’s dishes to the menu.

De Sosa’s technically retired now from business, but he wants to see his “legacy” live on. He’s been teaching Market Off Main co-owner Rose Mohr and staff how to make Cuban food and sharing his advice and equipment.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“I’m just here for my legacy,” he said.

De Sosa is the founder of Juan’s Black Bean Deli, which opened in 1999 on the west bank of the Pithlachascotee River. He moved when his building was razed to make way for the creation of Main Street Landing, which is still a work in progress. He then opened a business on Grand Boulevard, but eventually closed it.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

He then moved to a new location at 5706 Main St. and opened Juan’s Black Bean Café there. That business closed last year. Estela’s Mexican Restaurant is now open at that location.

De Sosa, 86, was raised in Cuba but has lived in Pasco since the 1970s.

He says Fidel Castro was a classmate at Jesuit School in Havana, but De Sosa is clear that he is no friend to Fidel or his brother Rauul, who is the current president of the country. De Sosa's a Republican, he says.

“I am totally against making any relationship with Fidel Castro,” he said.

De Sosa left Cuba in 1960, after Castro came into power. He says he joined the CIA-sponsored Brigade 2506. It was a unit of Cuban exiles that landed in Cuba during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He said he was captured and made a prisoner of war.

After getting back to the United States, he joined the Army but left the service in 1970. He moved to Pasco County to be closer to his in-laws, working several jobs.

De Sosa said he wants people to know the Cuba he knows, “the real Cuba.” He had pictures of Havana in his deli and a paragraph in his menu about the Brigade. 

The Market Off Main started offering De Sosa's cuisine a couple months ago. He says Mohr and business partner and co-owner Jerry Kuss remind him of himself and his wife, Sandy.

De Sosa’s menu is a good fit for the market and adds variety to the menu, Mohr said. De Sosa also brings a loyal customer base to the shop with him.

Mohr says she also appreciates De Sosa’s observations and suggestions and conversations.

“I like it because I have company” in the kitchen, she said.

You can find The Market Off Main at 6241 Lincoln St, New Port Richey.

Keep up with what's happening on the local business scene. Sign up for the New Port Richey Patch newsletter today!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here