Jibaritos y Más restaurant serving up authentic Puerto Rican cuisine with a side of generosity
A thriving family-owned restaurant in Chicago is also on a mission to help those who need it most.
Take a mom with a dream, a son devoted to helping her, and you've got the ingredients for kindness and success.
The cooks are busy, the ice is chilling, and the flavors are on fire at Jibaritos y Más in Humboldt Park, where diners find authentic Puerto Rican food with a little surprise.
"We're Venezuelan immigrants," said Jesus Arrieta, who co-founded the restaurant with his mother, Yelitza Rivera.
Always a cook, Rivera's first job in the U.S. was at a Puerto Rican restaurant.
"That's how her passion for the Puerto Rican food started," Arrieta said. "She had the best Puerto Rican food in my opinion. All her food is amazing."
Rivera and Arrieta call all four of their Jibaritos restaurants home, and said their food transcends boundaries.
"In the different cuisines of South America, we use the same ingredients, and Puerto Rican cuisine uses all of them," Arrieta said.
Atop the menu is the restaurants' namesake, the jibarito sandwich; born in Chicago and inspired by Puerto Rican recipes.
Jibaritos don't use bread. Instead, plantains are flattened to hold various proteins, vegetables, and cheese.
"We have a chicken jibarito. As you can see, garlic melted on the top; lettuce, tomato, cheese; and the grilled chicken," Arrieta said. "One of the fan favorites is the roasted pork jibarito; same way, traditional, the Chicago way. It's amazing food."
It's all a labor of love, but that love goes even further, well beyond paying customers.
Seven days a week, Rivera, Arrieta, and their crew prepare 80 to 100 boxes of food, made from scratch, to donate to neighbors in need.
"Every day they switch it up, where they do beef stew, or they do chicken stew, with the same serving, with the rice, a couple pieces of bread, and a soda," Arrieta said.
A restaurant van brings the dinners to nearby Humboldt Park, where anyone, regardless of circumstances is invited to dig in.
"Maybe sometimes it was the only thing they had in a long day," Arrieta said. "Everybody deserves to have at least one hot meal a day."
Pastor Jaro Medina, of Iglesia Vida Nueva, couldn't agree more. When the food is dropped off, he and his army of volunteers spring into action, connecting food with people who are hungry.
"Luckily this neighborhood has taken turn for good. A lot of great things are happening in this neighborhood. A lot of good changes are coming to this neighborhood," he said. "But there still are a lot of people in need. … Initiatives like this, they just help the community move forward."
Rivera came up with the idea years ago. Medina said her generosity knows no bounds.
"She was not neglecting, or saying no, or stopping anyone who wanted to come," he said. "It's just a beautiful, beautiful thing we're doing with her help."
Back at the restaurant, Arrieta said donating food is a bittersweet endeavor.
"It's hard that you can't do anything more," he said. "At the end of the day, you go with that in your heart that, okay, at least we feed them for today, and maybe they'll be back tomorrow. Hopefully they're back here tomorrow to get extra plates."
Arrieta said taking care of the community is a promise his mother made, and he hopes to keep the legacy going for generations to come.
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