My Riverdale: Mambo Lounge

img_0602-1467297275-700x500

A few months ago Yellow Pages began commissioning me to write profiles of local businesses for their digital platform. I have lived in Riverdale for almost 23 years so made the stretch on the Danforth between Broadview and Pape my “beat”. This guarantees never having to walk more than a minute to do an interview with a business owner, or spend money on TTC tokens to get to work. But much more importantly, this little gig has introduced me to many new “friends” on the street and made me love my neighbourhood even more.

By the end of this month I will have profiled 25 business owners. I’m going to share their stories with you from time to time in a series called “My Riverdale”. It’s my small way of promoting small businesses that need our support and recognizing the impressive hard-working people behind the facades I pass almost every day.

Here is the story of Andres Gonzales and Mambo Lounge.

A Cuban Home on the Danforth

Opening Mambo Lounge was no first step into Cuban food and culture for owner Andres Gonzales. In the 1990s, after graduating from university as a nuclear engineer, he quickly shifted gears to promote tourism in his native country, Cuba. Andres helped develop Cayo Coco and Havana as major tourist destinations and was the director of one of the biggest hotels in Cuba. In 2001, he was promoted to Canada to run a major campaign for Cuban tourism.

Andres and his family fell in love with Toronto and decided to stay. But there was a piece missing. “I was missing my culture,” he explains. “Cubans enjoy life. It doesn’t matter who your parents are, or the situation you are in. We try to get the best out of life.” At first, he decided to start a place for him and his friends. “It was a place for us to hang out on the weekends and enjoy Cuban music and food.”

Continue Reading…

Previous: No Refuge for Refugees
Next: Two Little Stories After Eleanor Died