Barroco is a restaurant located on Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio. This restaurant was founded in 2011 by a family who immigrated to the United States from Colombia with the goal of bringing traditional Colombian food to Lakewood, but as their restaurant gained popularity, they started making foods from other Latino countries as well. The manager of Barroco, Louis Morales, says that “You can find food from all over Latin America, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile [at Barroco].” Morales also says, “I would say 90% of our employees are from Latin American countries and all the cooks and chefs are Latinos,” (From WKYC News).

Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and is meant to recognize Hispanic Americans’ history, culture, and achievements. Hispanic Heritage Month started as a week-long celebration in 1968, but in 1988, it was expanded to a month. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Barroco honors Hispanic Americans with a new menu, serving tons of different Latino food and representing many Hispanic countries throughout Latin America.

At Barroco, they’ll now be serving things like ropa vieja from Cuba, tostones from Venezuela, yuca from Peru and chicharrones from Puerto Rico. It isn’t just the food that highlights the Hispanic experience: the atmosphere within Barroco itself does as well. At Barroco, the idea of “mi casa su casa” is in place, which when translated means “my house is your house.” Morales states that Barroco is going to keep this tradition alive forever, since “They [the customers] just love the way we serve our food, the way we treat them.” Morales adds, “We like everyone to feel welcome in our little casita.”

So during this month of September, be sure to take advantage of the new menu and get a taste of different Hispanic cultures at Barroco.