Starting Thursday, two former Uptown buggy owners are giving Athens a taste of paradise.
Todd and Tuti Wilson won’t be serving up sandwiches and wraps from the window of their Union Street buggy, Chica Chica Chop Chop, anymore. Instead, the couple will offer their Cuban cuisine in a new scene at Sol Restaurant, 33 N. Court St.
Tucked in the alley where Restaurant Salaam used to sit, the sunny abode might fool hungry Athenians into thinking they’re dining at a Key West hotspot.
“We want people to come here and feel like they’re getting away from the norm,” said Todd, co-owner of Sol Restaurant, “like they’re going out to dinner on vacation.”
After being in the buggy business for a year, the two Ohio University graduates found that making salsa and sandwiches was a challenge in the buggy’s limited space, especially because their street location offered no water or electricity.
“I miss the buggy, but we couldn’t give people the full experience there,” said Tuti, whose Cuban roots brought the rare flavor to Athens.
The couple needed more space to cook gourmet dishes such as shrimp pasta and chicken fricassee. The new restaurant’s liquor license is still pending, Todd said, but after the 30-day waiting period — which is up at the end of February — Sol Restaurant’s bar and stage will be set to host concerts and other events.
And Sol’s menu is proof of its loyalty to locally grown foods. As the newest addition to Athens’s 30-Mile Meal, the restaurant will feature nearby beans, cheeses from Integration Acres and dairy products from Snowville Creamery.
“It’s nice for people to know where their food comes from,” said Victoria Taylor, co-owner of Snowville Creamery in Albany. “It enables you to put a name and face on the production of what you’re eating. We have choices here and so many people in Athens choose to eat local.”
Amid its warm hues and linen-draped tables, these local logos decorate the brick walls of Sol. The restaurant’s tropical interior foreshadows its island-inspired flavor.
“You don’t often think of ethnic foods as local food in Appalachia,” Taylor said. “That is what adds cultural diversity to a local community and gives (consumers) a pride of place.”
Sol Restaurant will offer its ethnic entrees for $10-$20 each evening and a plethora of flan and cake for dessert seekers.
“There isn’t enough sunshine in Athens, so we’ve created a place where you can come in and feel warm no matter what the weather is,” Tuti said. “I want that warm glow all the time.”
oy311909@ohiou.edu
