Vicky Café creates buzz in FIU community

Bridgett Zayas/Contributing Writer

Vicky Café talks pastelitos, Cuban sandwiches and beer.

Vicky Café has only been open since spring 2017 and yet it has already become one of FIU’s most popular spots on campus. The walls are covered in art, the music is always playing and FIU students crowd the location eating Vicky’s famous pastries, varieties of sandwiches and locally brewed craft beers.

“Vicky Café is my favorite place to hang out on campus,” said Laura Silva, a junior majoring in international business. “The ambience is vibrant and the outdoor seating facing the lake is great scenery for studying. And of course, the food is great.”

The first of the Vicky Bakery locations opened in Miami in 1972 by Antonio and Gelasia Cao, a couple who immigrated from Cuba in 1968. Since then, 16 more locations have opened across Miami-Dade and Broward County. Vicky Café FIU, located next to the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum in the Modesto A. Maidique campus, is the company’s newest location.

“I started making pastries here the way I made them in Cuba, and they’ve been incredibly successful,” Antonio said. “To this day, we haven’t changed the recipe. And to this day, it continues to be one of the better pastries that my clients say they have eaten.”

In addition to the extensive food menu, Vicky Cafe also serves a wide selection of alcohol.

“We have seven on-tap beers, and a few bottled beers and cans. We also serve wines such as Italian Pinot Grigio, Spanish Cabernet, sangria, as well as mimosas” Brito said.

Some of the events they hold during the school year include: Salsa Night on Tuesdays where anyone can come inside and dance salsa in the evenings, Caribbean Night on Wednesdays, an event hosted by the Caribbean Club where they rent out the outdoor space and hold parties and Open Mic Night on Thursdays where people can perform their own songs or recite poetry in front of the Vicky Cafe Audience.

Alex says the cafe saw over 1,000 students in the Spring semester and expect to see even more this coming Fall. His favorite part about working at the cafe is being able to interact with all kinds of students and staff and learning about the ever changing FIU community over a round of beer.

“We have medianoches, Cuban sandwiches, pan con bistec, pechuga de pollo sandwich” says Alex Brito, a Vicky Cafe staff member. Although they mostly serve Cuban food, they also offer Colombian pan de bono and Venezuelan tequenos, according to Brito.