El Jibarito

My name is Chef Riky Diaz, and I was born in Puerto Rico, and grew up in Chilltown Jersey City, New Jersey. Food is my life. Food brings people together like a family. Growing up in a Puertorican household, I learned my mother's cooking secrets, making sofrito and how to correctly add spices to our foods, which began my passion for food. After that, I learned however I could from great chefs I worked with, recipe books, chef cooking apps, my mentor, online classes, and self-teaching. I love the history, techniques, flavors, and everything that pertains to food. I am a Latin food lover at heart, and I strive to share that appreciation with others. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for the past 28 years, from fast-food and casino restaurants to Michelin-rated restaurants such as Pampas in Palo Alto, California. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn and be trained by some of the industry's most experienced chefs and managers. My mentor, Saeed Amini, Master Sommelier, gave me the knowledge to make my vision come into being. Last year, it came to fruition with the help of my sister and partner. My dream came alive, and I opened my first restaurant, El Jibarito.

El Jibarito is my brainchild, 17 years in the making. El Jibarito is a celebration of Latin food, inspired by dishes from my Puerto Rican heritage and other rich flavors like our Cuban sandwich from Cuba, Oven roasted half chicken with our homemade green sauce from Peru, Choripan from Argentina, Tacos from Mexico, and Curry shrimp with rice from our Caribbean brothers and sisters in Jamaica, to name a few. I love sharing my interpretations of the cuisines with the public.

Arroz con gandules and Pernil

El Jibarito's Cuban Sandwich

Choripan with our homamade chimichurri

Steak Tacos

During our first year, we’ve been humbled by the great reviews we’ve received on Google with a 4.5-star average, along with a 4.5-star standard in our delivery apps (DoorDash, Grubhub, and UberEATS). We’ve established a solid customer base in the Newport Centre Mall and the surrounding Jersey City area, with many lauding our food as “delicious,” the best "Cuban sandwich in Jersey City," and some proclaiming us “the best fish tacos ever.”

Now that our focus has shifted to expanding, securing the additional funds to do so has been somewhat challenging. We are a successful burgeoning business but do not yet qualify for business loans from conventional banks.

We want to take this opportunity to request help with the following business expenditures:

I appreciate your consideration. We greatly look forward to sharing El Jibarito with as many as possible!