Sunday, January 4, 2009

Havana Sandwich Shop reopens in new location in Canton, GA.

After fire destroyed the Buford Hwy location they decided to reopen in a new location in Canton, GA.



Debbie Benedit sits down to a Cuban sandwich with sides of rice and black bean soup at her new restaurant, Havana Sandwich Shop in Canton.
Photo by Amber M. McCloskey
By Donna Harris
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer

A new culinary taste has come to town.

Debbie Benedit and her son, Eddie Benedit, brought their Cuban specialties that Atlantans have enjoyed for 32 years to Canton when they opened their second Havana Sandwich Shop last Tuesday.

Ms. Benedit said she and her son, who both live in Canton, thought it was time to bring authentic Cuban food to their neighborhood.

"This is home for us," she said. "They talk about Cherokee County as a place to live, work and play. We live and play here. Now we're going to work here, too."

"We've lived up here 20 years, and we decided to stop feeding strangers in Atlanta and start feeding our neighbors," Benedit added.

The pair had discussed opening a location in Canton before, but the city "just wasn't ready for it," she said.

"(Now) the timing was right," she said. "We're on the ground level for what is getting ready to happen here. We wanted to bring it here to Canton and let people experience something different. We have all the chains, but there are very, very few mom-and-pop, family-owned restaurants here or anywhere anymore."

They found an available building - the former site of Long John Silver's in front of Kmart on Marietta Highway - that was "basically set up like the one in Atlanta," and they jumped on it, she said.

"It made sense," she said. "It was such an easy decision to do."

full story here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing like the buford hwy location. very disappointing. See my review on YELP

Anonymous said...

I was excited to learn that Havana Sandwich Shop had opened in Canton, GA from their former location on Buford Hwy. Unfortunately, it was not worth the trip. The bread was stale or over-prepped, there was little meat, and the cheese was mediocre. The service was fast but that may be because they are prepping food for lunch. No one was busing the tables and the place looked dirty. I wish I could say something better. I had great memories from the Buford Hwy days. I guess you can't always go home...

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine told me about Havana, which is just up the road from an office I travel to in Buckhead. It's right off Druid Hills on Buford Hwy. This place gets PACKED at lunch, so I had to go somewhere else the first time I tried to go, but I went back at dinner and I understood why. This place has cheap, delicious Cuban food. Literally, their Cuban sandwich is the best I've ever had, and I have worked for months on end in South Florida. It's unreal how good their black beans are, but if you really want to have your eyes roll back in your head, order some empanadas. They are cheap (under $2) and AMAZING! You can tell the people that work at Havana actually love cooking and eat the food they make, because it is absolutely the best homecooked food I've ever had in a restaurant. I am completely addicted, and it is worth sitting in traffic to eat at Havana. No matter where you are in Atlanta, you should get up now and go! RIGHT NOW!

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

This location is closed at this time.Not open for business any more.

Anonymous said...

Too bad the owners have turned their back on the "Atlanta Strangers" that they were feeding for the last 32 years. I think the owners are confused about who was feeding who, but may soon figure out the "Atlanta Strangers" were feeding them and that leaving the Atlanta market for Cherokee County was a dumb business decision.

Anonymous said...

Dear loyal customers,
Thank you again for your continued support of the opening of Havana Restaurant. After many months of looking for the perfect location, we are happy to say Havana has found a home!!!
The new address is 3373 Buford Hwy Atlanta, GA 30329. We will be located 1/2 mile north on Buford Hwy at the entrance of Northeast Plaza Shopping Center. 404-636-4094
The projected opening date is January 1, 2010.
We will keep you posted on the progress. When we are closer to the opening date, we will e-mail coupons to everyone.
We are very excited about opening the restaurant and serving each and every one of you.