By RADFORD BROSIUS – Graphics Editor
Cali N’ Tito’s has been open at 1427 S. Lumpkin St. since 2006. It has moved twice, but is now a sturdy and successful restaurant. “We have a variety of different customers, it has changed. We have people all over coming to us,” co-owner of Cali N’ Tito’s Lourdes Rubio said.
Cali N’ Tito’s, a Hispanic restaurant located at 1427 S. Lumpkin St., has endured trials and tribuation, but still thrives in the Athens community.
A simple food stand becomes a building, that building moves not once, but twice and still has a loyal following.
“(Opening a restaurant) was something that my husband always wanted to do. We moved here in ‘95 and we both worked for restaurants and we saw there wasn’t a variety of Hispanic or Latino restaurants,” local restaurateur Lourdes Rubio said. “It was right when the Olympics were coming. We started with a trailer actually, it wasn’t a building; it was a concession stand.”
The restaurant which started in a trailer is now known as Cali N’ Tito’s. It began with the name Caliente Cab, and was located on the corner of Prince Ave. and Satula Rd. Lourdes and her husband, Bruno, sold a variety of Peruvian and Cuban-Colombian dishes native to their own heritage.
When the stand started to show success, the Rubios moved into a more substantial location at 211 Tallassee Rd. in 1997. Due to copyright conflicts with another Caliente Cab, they renamed their restaurant Azucca. Their goal for the new location was simple: to create a unique eating experience in Athens.
“We wanted to serve (food) we were used to eating at home, what we grew up eating,” Lourdes said. “It was an experiment for us because we weren’t sure if everyone was going to like our home-cooked food, but it turned out well.”
The food at the original Caliente Cab offered an eclectic mix of dishes.
“We have variety (in our food): it’s Central, South American and Caribbean. We try to have a little bit of everything,” Lourdes said.
While they owned and operated Caliente Cab, they also had a sister location at 1428 Prince Ave. named Pollo Criollo, also popularly called Pollo Loco.
However, in 2005, the Rubios closed the doors to both Caliente Cab and Pollo Criollo citing disputes with their landlord.
“Our leases ended on both properties and they tried to increase the lease triple,” Lourdes said.
In 2006, the restaurant known as Caliente Cab, Azucca and sometimes Pollo Loco, started a new chapter at 1427 S. Lumpkin St. as Cali N’ Tito’s, which quickly became succesful.
“Everyone was anticipating where we were going to open so (business) picked up right away. We closed down for a good seven months,” Lourdes said. “By word of mouth everyone found us and it was like we never shut down. It was great.”
The restaurant has been located on S. Lumpkin St. since 2006 and has received praise from the community. According to Clarke Central High School Curriculum Assistance Program for Students department teacher Bobby Walker, the restaurant is one of the most unique places to eat in Athens.
“It’s the perfect combination of outside seating, delicious food and pretty fast service for the popularity. It’s decorated well,” Walker said. “I think it’s in the top five most authentic Hispanic-type foods in Athens.”
The restaurant’s food has been called a variety of things, including “deli- cious” and “authentic.” Through its many incarnations, Cali N’ Tito’s has received a positive reaction from the community, quickly becoming one of the most distinctive Hispanic food restaurants in Athens.
“(It has been) very successful, more than I had imagined it to be. A regular deli maybe, is what we had in mind but it just evolved over time and it has just been really great,” Lourdes said.
