In November, I traveled to Cuba for a week-long vacation with my
wife and another couple. I departed the United States with an
open mind and not really knowing what to expect. The trip was
a mind blowing, amazing experience that is hard to put into
words. As a regular contributor to the ORBA Restaurant Group
Blog, I wanted to share three lessons that I learned about life in
Cuba and relate them to the business of running a restaurant.
1. Be Resourceful
After the Revolution and U.S. trade embargo, much of life in
Cuba appears to have been frozen in time. The most obvious sign of
this are all of the old cars still driving on the roads. Some of
these cars lumbered noisily down the roads spewing black exhaust,
while others were painstakingly refurbished and in pristine
condition. We had the pleasure of touring downtown Havana in a mint
condition 1955 Oldsmobile Starfire. Our tour guide explained to us
the difficulties of restoring and maintaining the car without
