Misael and Juana Albiter, the owners of the new Kenosha restaurant Eli’s Café. The couple have decades of work in restaurants under their belt.
Eli’s Café and Pancake House, 2731 18th St., opens Monday on the north side of Kenosha, offering traditional American breakfast and lunch along with a variety of Mexican cuisine.
Owners Juana and Misael Albiter, with several decades of experience working restaurants between them, said that after months of work they look forward to opening the doors of their new business.
“We’re excited; we hope we’ll be a good place for Kenosha residents,” Misael said. “We hope they accept us with open arms as we will with them.”
The couple has spent the last few weeks hard at work, ordering equipment, cleaning, painting and prepping. Both were well accustomed to the business.
Juana Albiter and Tabitha Laracuente organize silverware, preparing for the opening day of Eli's Cafe, 2731 18th St. The restaurant will offer classic American breakfast and lunch, along with a variety of traditional Mexican cuisine.
Misael has been working in restaurants since he was 15 years old, starting as a dishwasher and climbing all the way to chef over the years. The couple have run two restaurants together already, most recently owning and running Reflections in Racine for 17 years.
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That restaurant would close with the onset of the pandemic, as restrictions and extensive road construction pushed them to not renew their lease.
“We decided to just walk away,” Misael said. “We’d put our kids through college; they were married and they had children. I decided to retire.”
Retirement didn’t stick.
“I was retired for two months,” Misael said.
People began asking for his help and soon he was working through the week.
“My wife told me, ‘If you’re going to work seven days, just start a restaurant,’” Misael recalled. “Later, when I opened my phone, I found this place. We came in, and fell in love.”
Juana said she was glad to be back to work, especially with both her children grown and out of the house.
“I feel good to be working again. It was super boring at home,” Juana said. “I’m so used to working every day.”
Misael Albiter, one of the owners of Eli’s Café and Pancake House, works to prepare the restaurant for opening day Monday. The business is named after his grandchildren.
Starting the new business was almost nostalgic for Misael. He said he felt like it was their first time all over again, although now they have the knowledge and experience of decades of running a restaurant.
The name Eli’s Café comes from the couple’s grandchildren; their granddaughter Eliana, who died young, and Elias, their grandson. The name was a way to have both their grandchildren be represented in their business.
Eli’s Café is in the former location of the Soup Depot, and fans of the closed business who drop by on Monday could see a familiar face in Tabitha Laracuente, who worked at the Soup Depot for several years prior to its closing.
Laracuente said she was recently driving by when she saw the sign for the new restaurant and applied for a job. She was glad to be working with a local business again.
“I’m the kind of person that likes working for a family business,” Laracuente said.
She admitted it was a little strange to be back working for a new restaurant in the old location, but she looked forward to all the new and old crowds coming in.
“It’s not easy work, but I’m a people person, I like to be around people,” Laracuente said. “No matter the restaurant you work, people want the same things: Good service and good food.”
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July 09, 2023 at 11:00PM
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New Kenosha restaurant Eli's Café to open Monday - Kenosha News
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