El Kiosquito on Detroit Now Open in Gordon Square

When Jose Pagan heard that Papo Ruiz, the owner of Rincon Criollo, was looking to move on from the Puerto Rican mainstay’s original location on Detroit in Gordon Square, he jumped at the chance to grow his business.

RELATED: Gordon Square's Best Restaurants

Pagan has been operating El Kiosquito Boricua out of a stall at CentroVilla25, dishing up his own takes on Puerto Rican classics. He wasn’t exactly looking to expand quite yet, he admits. But the opportunity was too good to pass up and he was bolstered by the response from diners at the Hispanic food hall in Clark-Fulton.

“I’m blessed,” he says. “CentroVilla gave me a place to start my restaurant, something I dreamed of. Videos started going viral. It started blowing up little by little.”

READ MORE: Latin Flavors Meet Local Hustle at Cleveland’s CentroVilla25

The CentroVilla stall isn’t going anywhere but Pagan this month debuted El Kiosquito on Detroit, a full-service restaurant, after Rincon Criollo closed two months ago. (Rincon Criollo Take 2 is still open on Denison.)

Fans of Rincon will find some of the same Puerto Rican fare on the menu but Pagan says he tries to bring something a little different to the table, including chuletas fritas, a pan-fried pork chop. Pina coladas are also available thanks to a new liquor license.

“CentroVilla gave us a place where people found out about us,” he says. “There are a lot of us, small businesses with a dream.”

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.