Meet Jose Rivera Miura of The Ricans Food

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Rivera Miura.

Jose, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Jose Rivera Miura better known as Chef Miura. I was born and raised in Ponce, PR. I’m a professional Mechanical Engineer by day and a Self Taught Chef by night and Weekends, I’m a full-time Dad.

I have a passion for cooking and is my element. I have always dreamed on opening my own Puerto Rican Restaurant. After working for ten years in Florida, I received a good engineering offer in LA and decided to move. While in LA, I noticed Puerto Rican food in non-existent which gave me the idea of launching a new pop-up business.

Started reading about how to run a food truck and restaurant, researched about permits and regulations, I bought the equipment with some savings I had. I found out the famous Brooklyn market Smorgasburg was launching in LA and decided to apply for it, while in parallel dealing with permits, I was granted a food tasting and was accepted.

Three weeks later, I had my first popup, and ever since every single Sunday, I do my Smorgasburg Popups while I continue working as an engineer during the week, waiting for the right investor which will help move my brand into a restaurant!

Smorgasburg had opened a lot of doors for me from Feastly partnerships for Chef Popups dinners, to private dinners events, and Celebrities Private Dinners, such as Roselyn Sanchez, Rita Moreno, and Luis Guzman.

Has it been a smooth road?
Some of the struggles I would say is self-teaching myself on how to run a business, keeping track of taxes, hiring new people, managing different jobs and be a dad.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Ricans Food story. Tell us more about the business.
Our brand The Ricans Food its an Urban Style Modern Puerto Rican Food Popup, we are characterized by the Black and White colors, with a Mortar Logo with our Flag Shape, which represents our roots, the Mortar is a tool used in Puerto Rico to mash plantains.

We are known for the Mofongo (Mash Plantains with Garlic) topped with your favorite protein source. What’s cool about us is that we are also serving the Vegan Community because our product is essentially Vegan in nature until we add the meat.

We are very proud of our brand because we strive always to offer excellent customer service or your food is free.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see The Ricans Food evolving into a Modern Style Restaurant, where people go for a great meal, great ambiance, great music, and drinks.

Contact Info:

• Address: 777 Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA
• Phone: 7872982520
• Email: thericansfood@gmail.com
• Instagram: @thericansfood
• Facebook: The Ricans Food
• Yelp: The Ricans Food

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.