Caucho, a Latin American restaurant in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia neighborhood, is under new leadership. The new owners, Armina and Daniel Lacayo, were first announced on the restaurant’s Instagram page on March 22, and the couple officially took over on April 3. “I grew up in Orlando and my husband is from Cedar Rapids,” Ms. […]
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Caucho, a Latin American restaurant in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia neighborhood, is under new leadership.
The new owners, Armina and Daniel Lacayo, were first announced on the restaurant’s Instagram page on March 22, and the couple officially took over on April 3.
“I grew up in Orlando and my husband is from Cedar Rapids,” Ms. Lacayo said. “We first met in Chicago and we chose to move to Cedar Rapids because we wanted to own our own restaurants. He’s a chef and I’m front of the house, the typical restaurant love story. So, we moved here.”
The six-year-old restaurant was owned and operated by Carrie and Andy Schumacher, who also own the restaurant Cobble Hill Eatery & Dispensary located at 219 Second St. SE in Cedar Rapids. Ms. Lacayo worked at Cobble Hill for nearly a decade before taking on ownership of Caucho.
Mr. Schumacher said it was an easy decision to sell the Lacayos the business after hearing the couple talk about their dreams for years.
“The whole process of selling the business took about a year and a half,” he said. “When we started to think about it, it was a big emotional decision because there are a lot of thoughts about going public and putting the energy out there to find someone to take it over. But, thankfully, we sold to someone we knew who dreamed of opening a restaurant.”
Caucho was originally listed publicly for purchase, but Ms. Schumacher said the goal was always to sell to someone her and Mr. Schumacher knew has the restaurant’s best interests at heart.
“They came over to our house for coffee and we started to talk about the possibility and what (selling) might look like,” Ms. Schumacher said. “And then the first conversation fizzled out … We started having serious conversations again and they started going through the process to find funding and making it happen, but we always wanted and hoped to sell to Armina and Daniel.”
Moving forward
Caucho, located at 1202 Third St. SE #102, will see the menu change slightly, Ms. Lacayo said.
“The reason we thought Caucho was such a good fit for us is because my husband is part Central American and his family is from Nicaragua,” she said. “He’s lived in Central and South America, so we want to slowly transition some of the food to be more authentic. We don’t want to just offer Mexican food, but show Cedar Rapids and Iowa that there are so many other cuisines.”
Mr. Lacayo, she said, is already in the kitchen with the other chefs working to expand the menu while keeping customers’ favorite menu items from the previous owners.
Another focus of the Lacayos is to open up the opportunity for people to stay at Caucho longer.
“It’s definitely fast-paced," Ms. Lacayo said. “We may see that change once we start changing the cuisine a bit with people dining in longer, but it’s going great.”
The Schumachers want to reassure customers that the restaurant will continue to be owned and operated with care.
“Armina and Daniel will make changes and we know that the changes will be made with love and care,” Ms. Schumacher said. “... It will be from their heart. Whatever they do, we know it’s going to be great.”
Ms. Schumacher said she expects the couple to take the establishment to a new level from both Mr. and Ms. Lacayo’s experience in the industry.
Customers will also see familiar faces as they dine at Caucho under the new leadership. Ms. Lacayo said 95% of the employees both in the front and back of the restaurant were retained after the switch.
“We have an amazing team here and everybody is looking forward to learning,” she said. “I’m looking forward to teaching them and learning from everyone as well.”
Caucho is looking to hire a few people as patio season begins, she said. The business' hours are also staying the same, with the kitchen open from 4:30 until 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Lacayos are prepared to continue Caucho’s legacy as a staple of the Cedar Rapids community as they begin their tenure as the restaurant’s owners.
“We’re looking to expand the Latin cuisine in the NewBo district and bring focus to a different style of cuisine than what everyone’s probably used to,” she said. “We’re here to be a part of the community while adding our own special touch to it.”
