In photo: New St. Management Villaran Anibal Manager & Sandoval Renato Chef
The Beginnings
The New Street Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine is home to Manuela Matos, the chain’s matriarch, and Eduardo Morgado the master Cuban Chef who created the delicious recipes.
Manuela started the family business in 1967 in her native Peru, which still operates successfully to this day. She loved to cook and she loved to work and when an opportunity appeared for her to open a stand in a nearby market to serve typical Peruvian plates and fresh juices she jumped to it!
She worked at the food stand for 17 years before coming to America in hopes of a brighter future for her four children: Julio, Patricia, Sofia, and Ines (Mila). The first few years in the USA, Manuela worked in the jewelry industry as a wax maker while cooking for special events as a side job to supplement her income.
In the late 80’s she was running a full blown cooking business out of her three bedroom apartment cooking for special catered events and soccer games in the parks of New York. By the early 90’s the whole family was working diligently at home and at soccer fields selling home cooked Peruvian dishes.
Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine
Opening a restaurant was always in her plans and when the opportunity arose, Manuela borrowed money from family and friends to open Sophie’s Restaurant in downtown Manhattan. The family had decided that Cuban food might be more popular than Peruvian food in New York City. Enter Eduardo Morgado, a Master Cuban Chef - after trying out a few Cuban Chefs, Eduardo passed the test with flying colors. Eduardo was trained in the Hotel Riviera in Havana Cuba and in 1990 immigrated to the United States. Before joining Sophie’s Eduardo worked at La Teresita Restaurant in Tampa Bay, Florida and Mi Bandera and Azucar in New Jersey. Eduardo brought all the experience Manuela lacked in owning and operating a Cuban restaurant. Later, after realizing they were a good fit together Manuela and Eduardo became an item.
Survival and Growth
Two years after the first restaurant located on Greenwich St. at the World Trade Center became a huge success a second Sophie’s opened on Pearl Street. This was followed by the third location, New Street, a year later. In June 2001 the fourth Sophie’s opened at Maiden Lane.
The events of 911 made a big impact on Eduardo and Manuela’s lives.
Manuela often refers to episodes in her life as pre - 911 and post - 911. Of those first four Sophie’s in the pre - 911 period, only New Street remains. Greenwich and Maiden Lane never recovered from the losses of 911 and the Pearl Street landlord bought out that lease for a new building project.
While Manuela and the family continue to grow the business with six Sophie’s currently operating in Manhattan, she decided to retire in 2004 and now acts as an advisor for Sophie’s.
Guest Focus
Eduardo actively manages the location at New St. where he makes customers feel right at home with his unique Cuban style for delivering the best Cuban food you can find at a rapid pace in a lively and exciting Cuban-neighborhood restaurant environment.