Sweet Blessing Café is the latest restaurant to open in Belmont-DeVilliers’ stunning new Savoy Marketplace at 301 N. DeVilliers St. The new café is sandwiched between farm-to-table restaurant Sage In Bloom and the Great Harvest Bread Co. bakery and café.
The restaurant opened its doors to the public about a week ago, just in time for Savoy Marketplace’s official grand opening.
Owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo Gus Rodriguez and Nicole Burford, Sweet Blessing Café is a true testament to the name: God’s blessings in their lives that have led them to each other and to each new opportunity to serve others, Rodriguez said.
In addition to joining Savoy Marketplace’s dining scene, the two also create desserts for Pensacola Blue Wahoos games — such as homemade ice cream, tres leches cakes and double chocolate brownies — operate a small restaurant inside Pensacola’s SCI building, and run a thriving catering business.
Their Savoy Marketplace concept focuses on customers building their own bowls, offering thousands of flavor combinations with options for bowl bases, proteins, toppings and sauces.
The meats are roasted low and slow overnight, such as chicken, pork, and beef, using Puerto Rican herbs as his secret ingredient in his Caribbean-style recipes.
In addition to the fresh toppings, they can load them up with fresh pico de gallo, pickled onions, roasted corn and crispy jalapeños; they can also choose from Sweet Blessing’s 10 homemade sauces, ranging from a rich and creamy sofrito sauce to a light and citrusy mango vinaigrette made from Honduran mango pulp.
“My wife makes the recipe,” Rodriguez said.
Every person’s creation is different, but he anticipates his signature Cuban-style bowl will be a big hit, since the Cuban sandwich is a signature item he is known for at the SCI café.
“You get your brown rice, you get your black beans, you get the pickles on there, you get the roasted pork on top of it and the special sauce, and you’ve got like a Cuban sandwich, without the bread,” Rodriguez said.
They also offer a hot case of fresh, homemade empanadas ready to grab and go.
The couple set out to offer a fresh, fast, affordable option for the Belmont-DeVilliers community that customers can come to frequently.
“We want everybody to be able to afford it, every single person, and we want them to come back,” he said.
Regardless of what business they’re a part of, their philosophy has always remained the same: people are more important than profit. This can be said of their time serving the SCI building, when they knew just about every employee in the building by name and curated their specials to their taste.
Often, they’ll allow customers to pay for a meal when they’re able, sometimes waiting until the end of the week, when their paycheck comes in. No questions asked.
“We care about people. We’re going to meet their needs,” Rodriguez said. “We always have to give it back, that’s the main thing…. Don’t keep it to yourself. Be humble, be grateful, and give it back.”
In addition to the customizable bowls, they’re also leaning into their pastry background, offering a full cold case of delectable desserts, ranging from churro doughnuts to layered cake pops. What they don’t make themselves, they offer the opportunity to other bakers in the area to sell their specialties, such as their layered hummingbird cake.
Now open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, they are excited to serve the Pensacola community and to see the seemingly endless variety of build-your-own bowls they create.
They know they wouldn’t be where they are today without the support of their friends, family and mentors, including Quint and Rishy Studer, who Rodriguez considers their “angels” for supporting them through the years. He also credits his employees, who have stood by them in each venture.
“We’ve been in the restaurant industry forever. One of the hardest parts in restaurants — anybody can tell you this — is employees,” Rodriguez said. “We never put an ad. God sent them to us. I’m pretty sure we have one of the strongest teams.”
For real-time updates and information on Sweet Blessing Café, follow them on social media at Sweet Blessing Café.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Sweet Blessing Café brings empanadas, customizable bowls to Belmont-DeVilliers
Reporting by Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
