An upscale Latin eatery has opened its doors on East Main Street. The Antigua Cafe opened last Saturday in the space next to Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream, just east of McDermott Avenue.
Antigua Cafe markets itself as a Latin delicatessen, but the it’s more of a hybrid of a Hispanic deli, a bakery and a bar. The cafe offers authentic Hispanic food, breads, pastries, coffee, smoothies and soon — alcoholic drinks.
“The local town is very eager to come in and try the food,” said Jeremy Hobson, the store’s co-owner and a 2005 Riverhead graduate. “We’ve heard good reviews and we’ve had repeat customers come in for four or five days straight and say ‘we can’t get enough of this, we can’t get enough of that.’“
Hobson owns the store with Maximo Nunez and Carlos Flores. Maximo’s daughter, Maryelis Nunez of Patchogue, manages the cafe. She describes the menu as a “little bit of something from everywhere brought together.”
Nunez said she wanted the cafe to feature arepas, a sandwich made with cornmeal cakes that originated in the northern part of South America, because they are something different and are hard to find in the area.
“I went to Florida and every time we would go out we would go out for arepas,” Nunez said. “I was interested because everyone loved it, but there was nothing like that here.”
Antigua also serves other types of Hispanic foods, like tacos, burritos, patacones and empanadas. They also have Colombian burgers, Colombian hotdogs, and Cuban and club sandwiches.
Hobson said Antigua is in the process of getting its liquor license. Once it does, the cafe will welcome customers to the bar who want to relax, have a drink and watch sports while enjoying a bite to eat.
“While the bar’s open, the food is still available. So [customers] can have tacos and a margarita, something of that nature, and have a good time,” he said.
Although the business just opened, Hobson and his partners already have big plans for the future of the cafe. Hobson said that if the business is successful, they want to expand to more locations and grow the location on Main Street into a lounge.
“We’re here to cater to the community, no different than other food sources on Main Street, and try to revive Main Street and bring it back to its glory days,” Hobson said.
Antigua Cafe is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m..
Correction 07/09/21 1:20 p.m.: The name of the manager of Antigua Cafe was incorrectly spelled. The spelling has been changed from Maryelas Nunez to Maryelis Nunez.
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