The Cuban entrepreneur Amanda Wright Perez turned her story between Cuba and Jamaica into her own culinary proposal in Brooklyn, where she has just launched a new phase of El Punto Cubano Express, a restaurant that blends Cuban and Jamaican flavors in Williamsburg.
In a video posted on Instagram, Wright Perez shared the journey that led her to the business and explained that there is much more behind the restaurant than just a commercial venture.
“I am not just one culture. I am both, intertwined. And this restaurant is proof of that,” she stated.
Amanda was born in Cuba and spent part of her childhood between the island and Montego Bay, Jamaica, where she lived for seven years.
At the age of 10, she moved to the United States with her mother after traveling through Mexico, and they eventually settled in Orlando.
The food, however, had been present long before. Her parents had a Cuban restaurant when she was a child, although the business closed before it reached its first year.
Over time, that family experience ended up shaping Amanda's professional path.
At the age of 18, she bought a one-way ticket to New York. She initially arrived with the intention of pursuing acting, then studied psychology, but ultimately returned to what, as she recounts, her father had always inspired in her: the restaurant business.
Food has always been in my blood since day one, he explained.
She opened her first establishment at the age of 24, and three years later, she made the tough decision to close it. Instead of giving up on the project, she chose to start over and provide it with an even more personal identity.
That new beginning took shape in Williamsburg with El Punto Cubano Express, located at 376 Graham Avenue.
The establishment is the first independent location of a concept that previously operated as a stall within DeKalb Market Hall and now more prominently showcases Wright's Jamaican heritage, even featuring dishes that blend both traditions.
"I'm not just building a restaurant. I hope to create something bigger than myself, something that makes every sacrifice my mother made to bring us here worthwhile," the entrepreneur stated.
The project had already caught the attention of the culinary press.
In 2023, Tasting Table included El Punto Cubano among 20 top places in New York to eat a Cuban sandwich.
The list was updated later, and the restaurant continues to be among the establishments recommended by the publication.
For Amanda, her new space aims to go beyond preserving family recipes. It is also a way to publicly express who she is after a life shaped by various countries and cultures.
"This is also my way of showing New York who I truly am," she summarized.
Brooklyn has had a significant presence of businesses related to Cuban cuisine for years.
In 2017, the restaurant My Cuban Spot even caught the attention of The New York Times, which highlighted the concept of the establishment opened by Rafael Almeida and chef Louie Estrada.
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