Hispaniola Bistro is the name, and today’s the date – as South Salt Lake’s Square Kitchen Eatery (2435 S State Street) welcomes its newest entrepreneur. A presser for today’s soft opening (an official grand opening will follow in March) notes the restaurant will be the first Dominican restaurant of its type in Salt Lake City.
Chef and owner Ynoelia Fabian’s menu will deliver a taste of the Dominican Republic – a melting pot of African, Spanish, and Taino culinary traditions. That means dishes such as Sancocho, La Bandera, and Quipe – a dish that intriguingly caught my eye on associated social media posts; a Dominican variation of one of my favorite dishes – Lebanese Kibbeh. You can keep your donuts – I’ll take a dozen of these fried treats, please.
Ana Valdemoros, co-founder at SQE writes, “We are thrilled to welcome Hispaniola Bistro and support Ynoelia in this journey, Our mission at Square Kitchen Eatery is to provide the second and final step in a food entrepreneur’s journey—helping them solidify their business, build a strong customer base, and develop the financial capacity to operate independently. We’re excited to support Ynoelia as she brings her passion for Dominican cuisine to Utah, creating not only incredible food but also new opportunities for entrepreneurship and job growth in our community.”
Hispaniola Bistro is the latest name to emerge from the Spice Kitchen Incubator, a subsidiary of the International Rescue Committee, supporting new American culinary businesses. The Incubator has helped many a talented toque down through the years. Other businesses borne from the program include Bhutan House which now operates two brick-and-mortar locations in town, as well as Jamaica’s Kitchen, a familiar and favorite food truck around town.
The Bistro’s opening in Square Kitchen is another reason to check out either of the two locations. The duo (pictured top is the original 751 W 800 S location) has featured businesses such as Marcato Kitchen (tremendous stromboli) and Drunken Kitchen (some of the best-fried chicken in town), both developing solid local presences from Square’s facilities. As you might recall, DK recently took up the mantle as the restaurant in residence at Grid City Brewing.
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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