New Jersey's own Rumba Cubana is going national. The Cuban chain that started in 2009 opens its first restaurant outside the Garden State on Friday, November 6, in Palm Springs, Florida, down in Palm Beach County.
The restaurant is run by husband and wife Alan Lopez and Nairelys Lopez, who opened the first Rumba Cubana in 2009 and have grown it to six locations across Passaic, Hudson and Bergen counties, with a seventh, in Teaneck, on the way.
Florida was not a quick flip. The couple bought the Palm Springs property in the spring of 2025 and spent more than a year renovating it, choosing the area for its large Cuban and Latin community and the cultural connection to their roots.
The formula travels intact: family recipes, gentle prices with nearly everything under $25, and a menu built on the dishes Jersey regulars already know.
That means made to order empanadas, ham croquetas, bacon wrapped cassava and chicharron to start, the pressed Cuban sandwich with slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss and pickles, and entrees like ropa vieja, lechon asado marinated 24 hours in sour orange, vaca frita and bistec de palomilla. The arroz imperial, layered like a Cuban lasagna with chicken, rice, sweet plantains and mozzarella, makes the trip too, plus house made tres leches, flan and churros fried to order.
Most NJ chains expand into New York or Pennsylvania first. Rumba Cubana skipped the map and went straight to Florida's Cuban heartland, which tells you exactly how confident they are in what they built here.
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