Puerto Rican cuisine is one of the most dominant eats in Philadelphia, and the Serrano family continues to showcase the delectables that Puerto Rico has to offer.

This is why BORICUA Restaurant #1 in Northern Liberties is hosting a grand re-opening celebration to highlight their first restaurant after opening their second location in Port Richmond.

The festivities are happening on Sunday, Sept. 11, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the storefront located on 1149 N. Third Street. The family restaurant has hired local Philly performers, Los Bomberos De La Calle to kick the grand re-opening into gear.

Jazmin Serrano, the CEO of BORICUA Restaurants, stated the restaurants mirror the memories her and her brother, Hector have when their family would cook dishes from their hometowns of Arecibo and San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.

“The re-opening Boricua Restaurant #1 means that we are showcasing “AGAIN” the Puerto Rican cuisine flavors that our grandmother & mother showed us and now we can continue to share the flavors with Northern Liberties & the city,” said Serrano. We were at this location for 2 years but had to put a pause because of staffing and we opened a bigger location, Boricua Restaurant #2 in Port Richmond.”

BORICUA’s franchise owner, Rob, said that the family’s success of delivering traditional Puerto Rican meals to the city is the reason why he is committed to being a part of the business venture.

“I am very excited to continue the legacy of the Serrano Familia with their Puerto Rican family recipes in Northern Liberties,” he said. “To be one of the very few Latin Family Owned Restaurants in the area is a true blessing from God. As we continue this journey together, I want our customers not to look at Boricua #1 as a restaurant but as a home. We brought back a few chairs for some indoor dining. As they taste the traditional Puerto Rican food, we want them to be transported to the island of Puerto Rico.”

The restaurant will also be serving out some new dishes that the previous menu did not have, such as a fritura that will serve an assortment of pastelillos. They will also focus on adding weekend specials to give their loyal customers a chance to try other traditional dishes.

“Our main focus is to build great friendships and business relationships in the surrounding area and tri-state area. We have been blessed to do big catering contracts from 20 people – 4,000 people with major companies,” said Rob. 

The hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed on Sundays.