CLEVELAND — When you walk through the doors of Sabor Miami Cafe and Gallery on Broadview Road in Cleveland, you're immediately greeted by a burst of colors: Bright hand-painted canvases hang on every wall, string lights twinkle in strands from the ceiling, and tablecloths decorated with palm frond patterns hang off of tables.
Sinking into the cushions of a wicker chair underneath a sprawling beach umbrella, Cafe Bustelo cans and cigar boxes holding utensils on the table, the cheery cafe feels like a getaway. For owner Mariela Paz, it's a celebration of the places she's called home, and the food she loves.
"I just know that I love to paint and I love to cook. That's how I started," Paz said, explaining that she didn't have previous small business experience before opening her restaurant, making the pivot into the food industry from graphic design.
Paz, who grew up in Honduras before moving to Miami in her 20s and ultimately to Cleveland, was inspired to create a space that celebrated the foods of the places she's lived, while also showcasing her art.
"I want to connect people on a cultural level with my food and my art. That's very special for me," she stated. "They can taste things that they don't have in another place."
Reflecting on her upbringing, Paz said she was "blessed to be born in Honduras because it's something that fills your soul." She recalled growing up in a village where the focus was around food.
"I remember my mom, my grandma, my aunts cooking, like, big pots of soup. We grow up like that," she said. "And my dad also, you know, he loves to cook. He makes chicharrones. We have a pork farm, and chicken farm, we have eggs, and also we have a coffee farm."
Paz has fond memories of waking up at 6 in the morning to make breakfast with her dad, getting meat for the meal and preparing refried beans and tortillas, calling those experiences cooking with family "beautiful."
Paz describes Honduran food as influenced by Garifuna and Mayan culture, with coconut and corn serving as staple ingredients. A favorite Honduran street food dish of hers is baleadas, which she describes as fresh corn tortillas served with beans, queso fresco, and mantequilla, which is like a sour cream. In addition, she loves sopa de caracol — a traditional conch soup — and fried chicken with plantain chips.
While her menu incorporates some of her favorite Honduran and Central American dishes, she also serves flavors from Miami.
"Living in Miami made me have so many influences with the food — the Caribbean food, South American food," she told us. "Miami, they have a little bit of everything, so Sabor Miami is a little bit of everything."
Paz says in Miami, she was exposed to all sorts of cuisines, including Puerto Rican, Dominican, Jamaican, Haitian, Venezuelan, and more.
"Some days I do just like a taste of Cuba or little Havana, more like a Cuban food," she explained. "I always have my regular menu — you know, like Cuban sandwiches, the trop chop, tostones, sweet plantains, empanadas, tortilla rancheras, chilaquiles, and the coffee, Cuban coffee, some natural drinks. And then I have my specials, and on Sundays, we have more breakfast specials too."
When 3News visited Paz for Hispanic Heritage Month, she was busy whipping up tortillas rancheras, croquetas, sweet plantains, and the chicken trop chop, a hearty dish with Miami roots including rice and beans, chicken, pico de gallo, and a special curry sauce.
"It is something that I love," Paz said of being able to share these dishes with Northeast Ohio. "I respect it (the food) so much — the food for me is sacred.”
Paz opened her restaurant in this location in 2017, and is grateful for the community support.
"I love Cleveland. It's something that I am so blessed to be here, because they support my art, my food, and I love this city," she said. "I want to do a lot of things for this city too."
She hopes that people will come to her cafe to experience the food, have a cafecito, and enjoy her art, sharing that all are welcome.
"I cook, like, for a friend, for someone that is my family," she said. "You have to cook with love. I always say the secret ingredient is always love. You have to care about your food, and people are going to taste that."
Sabor Miami is located at 4848 Broadview Rd. in Cleveland. For more information on hours and menu, click here.