Q: Know anything about the Fernandez the Bull Cuban Cafe new location next to Malinche on Bonita Beach Road and 41? There is a banner up on the building. — Michelle Ison, Bonita Springs

A: A Bonita Springs location has been a long time coming for Naples- based Fernandez the Bull Cuban Cafe. The local family behind the historic restaurant concept has had a goal to open in Lee County for at least a decade.

“They’ve been trying to get us to come to Bonita for a really, really long time,” said Stephanie Figueroa, who co-owns and operates the local restaurants with her ex-husband, Lazaro Figueroa. “Our customers that drive from Fort Myers and Estero have been trying to get us to head north. We just haven’t been able to find the right spot. So, I definitely think that the customers are going to like having a closer option.”

The new location is coming this fall to the opposite end of the multitenant building where Malinche Mexican restaurant opened last summer as an outparcel in the Publix-anchored Center of Bonita Springs. Its 2,549-square-foot unit at 3250 Bonita Beach Road had been a veterinary clinic for years. The Figueroas think it’s the perfect spot.

“It’s super visible right there on the road,” Stephanie Figueroa said. “It’s a big, beautiful spot.”

Of course, converting the former office space to a restaurant was an obstacle to overcome.

“We had to have it rezoned because it wasn’t a restaurant. So, we had to install the grease trap, install the hood and do all that, so that took a little bit longer,” she said.

The new restaurant will have a full bar, and its owners are trying to figure out a way to add some outdoor seating on the building’s western end. “Right now, we’re just trying to get in and get open, and then we’ll worry about the outdoor stuff,” Stephanie Figueroa said.

The local dining concept began in Naples nearly 40 years ago. Lazaro Figueroa’s aunt and uncle, Luis and Raquel, started Fernandez the Bull in 1985. That original location was where Pelagos Cafe is today in Liberty Plaza on U.S. 41 North.

The Figueroas opened a second location in 2009 on Airport-Pulling Road, where Rumba Cuban Cafe is today. Their subsequent restaurants— in Piper’s Crossing on Immokalee Road in 2010, Meridian Marketplace on Pine Ridge Road in 2015 and Key Largo in 2019—are the three locations of Fernandez the Bull still operating.

“And now we’re working on the one in Bonita,” said Lazaro Figueroa, also revealing that family member Frank Fernandez plans to return as a managing partner with a proposed fifth location of Fernandez the Bull in eastern Collier County in about a year or so.

The new locations are going to be operated a little differently than the existing locations. For example, Inaisis “Ina” Sanchez will join the family operation as a managing partner of the Bonita location after serving as manager of the Immokalee Road restaurant for the last few years, Lazaro Figueroa said.

“She started there as a busser a long time ago and she worked her way up, and now she is one of our rock stars,” he said.

The Figueroas needed a solution from spreading themselves too thin between overseeing the Cuban cafes and two locations of Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen that they also own in Key Largo. They decided to tap managing partners to co-own and manage specific locations, such as the new Bonita restaurant.

“We figured out the best way, from my previous employment and jobs that I’ve had, that the best way to grow is to have people that have skin in the game because we cannot duplicate ourselves,” Lazaro Figueroa said. “And we need smart people out there, and Ina and Frank are both very sharp.”

“We need people that are as passionate about Fernandez the Bull and understand the importance of keeping and maintaining the legacy and the history that we’ve had. I mean, being there since 1985, you know it’s all about consistency,” said Stephanie Figueroa. “We stay true to the original recipes from Raquel and from her mother and all those things that have been passed down, and then evolving and adding some things that will appeal. There are a few little twists on some stuff, but you still got to have your staple things that you would expect to have at a Cuban restaurant.”

For example, the restaurant has four varieties of Cuban sandwich-es. The restaurant’s original sandwich, the Fernandez Cuban, features slow-roasted, shredded pork with sliced ham, white American cheese, pickle and mustard.

“Laz and I added a traditional Cuban that’s more Miami style. Then we added the Naples Cuban because everybody kept telling us to have bacon. So, we came up with that. Then, when we opened over here in the Keys, we created a Keys Cuban which instead of a pork, it’s got kind of like a lobster roll type of mix, and people absolutely love that,” Stephanie Figueroa said.

“So, Ina’s like, ‘Hey, I need a Bonita Cuban.’ That’s a great social media opportunity that maybe we get the community involved. You know, if you can create a Cuban sandwich with a Bonita flair, what would that be?”

Perhaps a Cuban sandwich mashup with carnitas, queso and jalapeños could prove popular as a nod to Bonita’s concentration of authentic Mexican eateries.

Other popular menu items continue to be the churrasco steak and lechon pork entrees, as well as traditional sides such as black beans and rice. The Bonita location will continue that long tradition.

“It’s going to be the same food, same everything—the look of it is definitely Fernandez the Bull 3.0,” Stephanie Figueroa said. “The look of it is evolved, and then we’re going to kind of backwards decorate and pull from some of the things Ina’s done and reverse decorate to kind of tie all the restaurants together.”

Expect live music a few nights a week and daily specials, as well. “We’ll be doing happy hour there every day 3 to 6, same as we do on Pine Ridge. We’ll be open seven days,” she said. “There’s been a little bit of talk of maybe trying to do a brunch or something like that maybe on Sunday, or Saturday and Sunday. That’s kind of to be determined. That’s on the wish list. But right now, we just need to focus on getting her open.”

Don’t be surprised to see founder Luis “The Bull” Fernandez checking out the new digs.

“One of the coolest things is that Luis is still involved, and he still comes in, obviously not every day because he’s a little bit older,” Stephanie Figueroa said. “It’s amazing to see people who are bringing their kids there and they’ll tell us, ‘I ate here when you guys were on 41. I ate here with my parents and now I’m here with my kids.’ It’s a really cool thing.”

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim. aten@naplespress.com.