Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine closes doors

Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine closes doors
Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine announced it closed its doors Monday. <strong>Courtesy Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine</strong>

A Caribbean-inspired restaurant in the heart of Grand Rapids closed down.

Edward DeLaCruz and Gilma DeLaCruz, husband-and-wife owners of Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine who are from the Dominican Republic, said in a Facebook post on Monday that they closed their restaurant at 55 Monroe Center NW in downtown Grand Rapids.

“Today, with great sadness, we closed the door of our restaurant. It has been a rough year for us. We worked really hard for the success of Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine. Unfortunately, as we continue with the challenges of the pandemic, we are not able to continue to operate with the circumstances. This has been a very difficult decision for us, and we pray to God to guide us,” the couple wrote in the post.

They went on to thank their customers, as well as Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., Start Garden, Rockford Construction and surrounding businesses for their support during the restaurant’s tenure.

Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine opened last July and served dishes such as empanadas, Dominican Caesar salad, yuca fries, tostones, chicken croquettes, plantain or yuca mofongos with slaw, shrimp stew, goat stew, Caribbean fried rice and Cuban sandwiches, with desserts including flan de coco (coconut custard), gelado de fundita (ice cream) and tamarind popsicles.

The DeLaCruzes will continue to operate their food truck, El Caribe. Those who would like to support the food truck can find its daily locations on Facebook.