This wasn’t the plan.
Not the food truck. Not the long nights. Not the Cuban sandwiches, cafecitos, or the idea of opening a restaurant in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
But sometimes the best chapters of your life are the ones you never saw coming.
And that’s pretty much how Cuban Cracker Family Kitchen came to life.
Two Different Roots. One Shared Dream.
Vince grew up in Hialeah, Florida, surrounded by the sights, sounds, and flavors of Miami’s Cuban culture.
Cuban sandwiches, cafecito, family gatherings, and food that always seemed to bring people together weren’t just occasional treats. They were part of everyday life.
Hollie’s story was a little different.
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Hollie moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee, when she was just two years old. Middle Tennessee has been home ever since.
For 23 years, Hollie worked in corporate sales for the same Nashville company. Vince’s career took him through the worlds of art, entertainment, and business, including work as a graffiti artist, executive producer, and CFO.
Neither of us had mapped out a future in the restaurant industry.
Yet here we are.
Bringing a Little Miami to Middle Tennessee
When we started Cuban Cracker Family Kitchen in 2024, we weren’t trying to build some giant restaurant empire.
We wanted to share something we loved.
For Vince, that meant bringing the Cuban food and coffee culture he grew up with in Miami to the community Hollie had called home for most of her life.
And we wanted to do it our way.
Real Cuban sandwiches. Slow-roasted lechón. Ropa vieja. Picadillo. Strong cafecito. The kind of food that carries memories, traditions, and stories with every bite.
But Cuban Cracker was never going to be just about what’s on the menu.
We wanted people to feel welcome. To laugh with us. To get to know our family. To experience a little of the culture that makes Cuban food so special.
A Food Truck, a Family, and a Whole Lot of Learning
Starting a food truck sounds pretty romantic until you’re actually doing it.
There are early mornings, late nights, equipment problems, unpredictable weather, and days when absolutely nothing goes according to plan.
We’ve learned more about running a food business than we ever imagined.
We’ve made mistakes. We’ve figured things out along the way. And there have definitely been moments when we’ve looked at each other and wondered what on earth we got ourselves into.
But then something happens.
A customer tells us our food reminds them of home. Someone tries Cuban food for the first time and falls in love with it. A family comes back week after week. A stranger becomes a friend.
And suddenly, all those long days feel worth it.
That’s what keeps us going.
Hendersonville Became Part of the Recipe
One of the things we never anticipated was just how much the community would become part of our story.
From neighborhood food truck nights and local breweries to farmers markets, school fundraisers, and catering events, we’ve had the opportunity to meet some incredible people throughout Hendersonville and Middle Tennessee.
We’ve watched customers become regulars, regulars become friends, and friends become part of the Cuban Cracker family.
We’ve also had the privilege of giving back to the community that continues to support us.
Recently, we helped three local students, Richie, Lukas, and Tyler, raise more than $1,000 for the Liberty Creek High School Theatre Department.
It was a reminder that this little business has grown into something bigger than selling sandwiches.
Food has a way of bringing people together.
And that’s exactly what we hoped Cuban Cracker would do.
From Food Truck to Something Bigger
As Cuban Cracker grew, so did our dreams.
What started with a food truck has expanded into catering, Cuban Cracker Coffee Co., and now our next big adventure: opening a brick-and-mortar Cuban restaurant in Hendersonville.
Our future home at the Futbol5 Sports Complex will give us the opportunity to share even more of the Cuban dishes we love, serve our community in a new way, and create a place where people can gather around good food.
We’re excited.
We’re nervous.
And we’re still figuring things out as we go.
Some things never change.
Two Years Later, We’re Just Getting Started
As we celebrate two years of Cuban Cracker Family Kitchen, we can’t help but look back at everything that’s happened.
Two people with different roots came together and decided to take a chance.
Miami met Hendersonville.
And somewhere along the way, a little food truck became a family business with a community behind it.
We don’t know exactly what the next chapter will look like. But we know we’re grateful to everyone who’s been part of the story so far.
Whether you’ve bought a Cuban sandwich, shared one of our posts, booked us for an event, grabbed a cafecito, or simply stopped by to say hello, you’ve helped us get here.
And we don’t take that for granted.
Two people. Two different backgrounds. One little food truck that turned into something bigger than either of us imagined.
And now, with a restaurant on the horizon, we’re about to begin another chapter.
If you’ve followed our journey, you already know things don’t always go according to plan around here.
But maybe that’s what makes the story worth telling.
This wasn’t the plan. And we’re just getting started.
From our family to yours, gracias for being part of the journey.
Vince & Hollie
Cuban Cracker Family Kitchen