Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Sanchez, a familiar face from bars and restaurants in the region, was originally from Havana. He moved to Stratford after marrying a Canadian from the area and opened this drinking establishment, inspired by his Cuban background, on June 11; it’s a long-held dream come true at a time that’s mostly been reported as a nightmare for his sector. “I was missing for a long time that kind of connection with my culture here,” he says.
There definitely seems to have been pent-up demand for a top-notch pork carnitas taco in Stratford, which is, after all, home of the Ontario Pork Congress. Indeed, Galvez quickly had to change her hours of operation to allow for more prep time, as before summertime she would regularly run out of food.
“We want Stratford to be a safe, comfortable, inclusive place for everyone to come to,” Whitaker says, noting as other signs of further movement in that direction the imminent openings of a halal restaurant and Indian supermarket in town. Stratford’s original culinary reputation dates to the 1970s – when the Festival started selling half a million tickets a year. In that decade, a few world-class fine-linen high-end dining spots set up shop to capitalize on that critical mass of visitors .