I first featured Boricua Soul on the blog with the launch of their food truck in 2015. Since then, we’ve enjoyed watching this local family-owned Puerto Rican soul food truck become a prevalent part of the food scene, especially here in Durham. Husband and wife duo, Toriano and Serena Fredericks, are about to take that one step further with the opening of a brick and mortar spot at American Tobacco (ATC).
Most recently the location of Maybelle’s Biscuits & BBQ, this spot is situated in the center of ATC’s campus, beneath the lucky strike tower. The interior of ATC is one of the prettiest spots in downtown to walk around and a great place to listen to music on the lawn. Boricua Soul hopes to help bring in new energy and a strong local presence to match up with ATC’s plans to reshape and revive the campus.
When ATC first introduced its Pop Up @ATC concept in the fall of 2018, Serena jumped at the chance to apply, and Boricua Soul became the first food truck and the first pop up restaurant to take over the space. Several other food trucks have followed suit and brought a lot of rotating eateries to Blackwell Street. Boricua Soul received such positive feedback, they didn’t want to leave when their time at the pop up came to an end.
Now, they are one of the first locally-owned restaurants to remerge on the campus in a permanent location. (Time will tell what will become of the former Cuban Revolution and Tyler’s Taproom, which is currently a pop up beer garden featuring brews from Rocky Mount Mills.)
One of the biggest construction projects for their restaurant is the installation of a huge open-air front door that will connect the formerly closed-off, more internal restaurant with the outdoor space. This covered portion of ATC stays cooler, and the Fredericks plan to install a small stage for music and movie showings. There will be a lot of family-friendly fun. The Fredericks’ have a seven-year-old son, Devin, who plays drums (@lilbullbeats) and is expected to make some appearances!
The style of the restaurant will be fast casual with all the favorites from the food truck, such as empanadas, tostones, peril, and sides like collard greens, mac and cheese, and maduros. At the restaurant, you will be able to order more options as plates/platters, rotating soups, vegetarian dishes and salads, such as house, chicken and shrimp ceviche.To change things up, the restaurant will have a daily special featuring dishes like Monfongo, fried wings, grilled or fried fish, and more.
There are a number of favorites and popular dishes Boricua Soul can’t wait to offer permanently. “Things that were hits when offered as trial dishes on the truck, or that we serve as catering options, but don’t offer often due to truck time and space constraints,” Toriano explains. For instance, they plan to bring back the Country Cuban Sandwich (Cuban sandwich made with Southern fried cornbread (hoecake) as the bun, which is a favorite from the early days. They will also add a traditional Cuban Sandwich to the menu.Other sandwiches will include Jibaritos (sandwiches made with plantain bun) containing pork, chicken, or shrimp. There will be an island grilled chicken sandwich and a grilled pimento cheese sandwich on a hoecake to name a few.
In addition to favorite empanadas currently served, they will introduce others, like the award-winning BBQ empanada and a vegan option: curry vegetable. Others may rotate seasonally (be sure to look for the chicken pot pie empanada. According to the Fredericks’, this one developed a quite a following last winter!).For desserts, you can expect favorites like a sweet potato cheesecake empanada as they explore the idea of rotating options like banana pudding, tres leches, and poundcake.
The expected opening for Boricua Soul is late September, so you will have a new Durham dining option just in time for fall!
Photos courtesy of Boricua Soul
Leave a Reply