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Cuban restaurant reaches out to LGBT scene

Chris Azzopardi

Chris Vazquez wants to give gay people a bite of Cuban flair. As co-owner of Vicentes Cuban Cuisine in Detroit, which serves an eclectic mix of patrons, launching a Sunday gay and lesbian night beginning March 4 seemed appropriate when Vazquez considered their mission statement of uniting all for one reason: food.
"We are a very diverse restaurant ourselves," Vazquez said. "We think it'd be appealing and also we'd like to give everybody a little taste of … the Cuban experience."
The Cuban owned and run restaurant will offer salsa lessons, house and techno music infused with Latin vibes and a Key West theme.
"Just our ambiance and our staff alone is going to give a whole different feeling; more of a happier, fun environment that's a little bit more upscale," he said.
The restaurant, which employs several gay staff members, wanted to branch out to a different mix of people. Even employees who aren't gay are on the same page with those who are. "It's an open environment," he said about the restaurant. "Anybody that's going to be working the night just wants to have fun like anybody else."
Vicente Vazquez, who's also gay, founded Vicentes Cuban Cuisine in early 2005 to provide an authentic Cuban experience to the metro Detroit area. With its mix of Latin entertainment and family tradition, Vicentes is the culmination of a dream to unite and enlighten everyone, including gay folks, of the Cuban lifestyle.
"We're trying to start something that downtown (Detroit) doesn't offer right now," Vazquez said.

Vicentes Cuban Cuisine's Gay Night
10 p.m.-4 a.m., March 4
1250 Library Street, Detroit
(313) 962-8800
http://www.vicentes.us

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